Students who speak a language other than English and who are not yet English proficient, as a percentage of all students.
The proportion of English language learners in a school district can reflect the number of non-English speaking homes and backgrounds in the community. These students often require specialized or modified instruction and programmatic supports in school in order to access the educational opportunities available to other students.
In 2021, 8.6% of students in Berks County were English language learners, up from 5.5% in 2008. The number of English language learners increased 48% to 5,700 in 2021. Pennsylvania overall had English language learners make up 4.4% of its students in 2021. That reflects a 56% increase in the number of English language learners since 2008.
Among local school districts, Reading had by far the highest proportion of English language learners at 26%, followed by Muhlenberg which had only 7%. Less than 1% of students were English language learners in six districts: Boyertown, Brandywine Heights Area, Conrad Weiser Area and Oley Valley. Berks' rate was higher than surrounding counties, which ranged from 2% to 8%.
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| 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 2.6% | 2.7% | 2.6% | 2.6% | 2.7% | 2.7% | 2.8% | 3.0% | 3.0% | 3.2% | 3.8% | 4.2% | 4.5% | 4.4% |
| Berks County | 5.5% | 6.2% | 6.0% | 5.8% | 5.8% | 5.9% | 5.7% | 5.7% | 6.1% | 6.8% | 7.8% | 8.7% | 8.7% | 8.6% |
| Berks County Regions | ||||||||||||||
| Central | ||||||||||||||
| Northeast | ||||||||||||||
| South | ||||||||||||||
| Southeast | ||||||||||||||
| West | ||||||||||||||
| Reading city | ||||||||||||||
| Berks County Peers | ||||||||||||||
| Chester County | 3.2% | 3.8% | 3.1% | 2.9% | 2.9% | 2.9% | 3.0% | 3.2% | 3.3% | 3.7% | 4.1% | 4.2% | 4.3% | 4.1% |
| Lancaster County | 5.0% | 5.2% | 4.8% | 4.9% | 4.8% | 4.6% | 4.5% | 4.5% | 4.4% | 4.6% | 4.8% | 5.4% | 5.8% | 5.8% |
| Lebanon County | 4.4% | 4.5% | 4.4% | 4.2% | 4.3% | 4.4% | 4.2% | 4.4% | 4.3% | 4.3% | 4.8% | 6.7% | 6.9% | 7.1% |
| Lehigh County | 5.9% | 6.0% | 5.4% | 5.1% | 5.4% | 5.0% | 4.9% | 5.3% | 5.4% | 6.1% | 6.7% | 7.7% | 8.0% | 7.9% |
| Montgomery County | 2.4% | 2.5% | 2.4% | 2.3% | 2.5% | 2.5% | 2.7% | 2.8% | 3.0% | 3.1% | 3.3% | 3.5% | 3.7% | 3.7% |
| Schuylkill County | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.7% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 1.1% | 1.2% | 1.4% | 1.5% | 1.7% |
| School Districts | ||||||||||||||
| Antietam School District | 2.5% | 3.2% | 3.1% | 3.5% | 2.2% | 2.3% | 3.2% | 2.9% | 2.4% | 4.1% | 3.7% | 4.0% | 3.6% | 6.2% |
| Boyertown Area School District | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 0.4% |
| Brandywine Heights Area School District | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.3% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.8% | 0.9% |
| Conrad Weiser Area School District | 1.6% | 1.6% | 1.2% | 0.8% | 1.3% | 0.9% | 1.3% | 1.4% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 0.8% |
| Daniel Boone Area School District | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.7% | 1.0% |
| Exeter Township School District | 0.8% | 0.9% | 1.0% | 0.9% | 0.7% | 0.8% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 1.0% | 1.3% | 1.5% | 1.6% | 1.7% |
| Fleetwood Area School District | 2.4% | 2.0% | 1.7% | 1.3% | 1.4% | 1.5% | 1.6% | 1.9% | 1.2% | 1.0% | 1.5% | 1.7% | 1.8% | 1.8% |
| Governor Mifflin School District | 1.4% | 0.4% | 1.2% | 1.3% | 1.6% | 1.6% | 1.2% | 1.2% | 1.3% | 1.6% | 2.3% | 2.5% | 2.3% | 2.3% |
| Hamburg Area School District | 0.4% | 0.6% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.5% | 0.8% | 0.5% | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.6% | 0.9% | 1.2% | 1.3% | 1.3% |
| Kutztown Area School District | 0.2% | 0.4% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 1.0% | 1.0% | 0.9% | 1.4% | 2.6% | 2.5% |
| Muhlenberg School District | 4.6% | 5.3% | 4.7% | 4.5% | 4.4% | 4.3% | 4.1% | 4.7% | 4.3% | 4.6% | 6.0% | 6.5% | 7.0% | 6.9% |
| Oley Valley School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.9% | 1.0% | 0.8% | 0.7% | 0.8% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.8% |
| Reading School District | 17.5% | 20.3% | 19.7% | 18.7% | 18.7% | 18.9% | 18.0% | 17.8% | 19.3% | 21.5% | 24.0% | 26.8% | 26.3% | 25.9% |
| Schuylkill Valley School District | 1.2% | 1.3% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 1.0% | 1.3% |
| Tulpehocken Area School District | 3.4% | 3.9% | 3.7% | 3.9% | 3.7% | 4.0% | 3.2% | 2.8% | 2.9% | 2.4% | 2.5% | 2.2% | 1.9% | 2.8% |
| Twin Valley School District | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 1.0% | 1.2% | 1.1% |
| Wilson School District | 2.5% | 3.1% | 2.5% | 1.6% | 1.4% | 1.6% | 1.4% | 1.6% | 2.0% | 2.2% | 2.7% | 2.7% | 3.7% | 3.5% |
| Wyomissing Area School District | 3.0% | 2.5% | 1.7% | 2.5% | 2.0% | 2.6% | 2.8% | 2.2% | 1.9% | 2.0% | 2.6% | 2.4% | 2.7% | 3.1% |
| 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 45,978 | 48,052 | 46,254 | 45,924 | 47,259 | 47,418 | 48,439 | 51,329 | 52,296 | 55,863 | 61,835 | 68,169 | 72,862 | 71,766 |
| Berks County | 3,840 | 4,354 | 4,196 | 4,067 | 4,071 | 4,065 | 3,905 | 3,898 | 4,152 | 4,602 | 5,267 | 5,908 | 5,881 | 5,678 |
| Berks County Regions | ||||||||||||||
| Central | ||||||||||||||
| Northeast | ||||||||||||||
| South | ||||||||||||||
| Southeast | ||||||||||||||
| West | ||||||||||||||
| Reading city | ||||||||||||||
| Berks County Peers | ||||||||||||||
| Chester County | 2,458 | 3,119 | 2,604 | 2,491 | 2,519 | 2,547 | 2,659 | 2,861 | 2,912 | 3,112 | 3,304 | 3,390 | 3,626 | 3,560 |
| Lancaster County | 3,468 | 3,581 | 3,293 | 3,320 | 3,282 | 3,129 | 3,025 | 2,998 | 2,979 | 3,096 | 3,233 | 3,611 | 3,862 | 3,750 |
| Lebanon County | 829 | 851 | 830 | 799 | 807 | 835 | 805 | 831 | 826 | 840 | 947 | 1,333 | 1,388 | 1,372 |
| Lehigh County | 3,180 | 3,200 | 2,892 | 2,730 | 2,717 | 2,541 | 2,466 | 2,698 | 2,791 | 3,167 | 3,485 | 4,111 | 4,283 | 4,133 |
| Montgomery County | 2,656 | 2,733 | 2,654 | 2,557 | 2,710 | 2,736 | 2,889 | 3,068 | 3,224 | 3,350 | 3,864 | 4,035 | 4,325 | 4,314 |
| Schuylkill County | 130 | 134 | 116 | 139 | 170 | 159 | 164 | 158 | 165 | 203 | 222 | 255 | 255 | 264 |
| School Districts | ||||||||||||||
| Antietam School District | 27 | 34 | 33 | 37 | 23 | 24 | 33 | 31 | 25 | 44 | 42 | 46 | 40 | 68 |
| Boyertown Area School District | 15 | 19 | 16 | 19 | 15 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 20 | 18 | 20 | 29 | 25 |
| Brandywine Heights Area School District | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 12 |
| Conrad Weiser Area School District | 48 | 47 | 36 | 24 | 37 | 24 | 35 | 38 | 20 | 19 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 20 |
| Daniel Boone Area School District | 19 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 8 | 18 | 11 | 11 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 22 | 30 |
| Exeter Township School District | 35 | 42 | 44 | 38 | 29 | 32 | 35 | 36 | 35 | 40 | 53 | 59 | 64 | 64 |
| Fleetwood Area School District | 66 | 55 | 45 | 35 | 37 | 41 | 43 | 50 | 31 | 24 | 38 | 42 | 43 | 42 |
| Governor Mifflin School District | 58 | 17 | 51 | 57 | 67 | 66 | 50 | 50 | 54 | 66 | 96 | 107 | 99 | 97 |
| Hamburg Area School District | 10 | 16 | 18 | 17 | 13 | 19 | 12 | 14 | 11 | 14 | 19 | 25 | 27 | 26 |
| Kutztown Area School District | 4 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 19 | 35 | 33 |
| Muhlenberg School District | 158 | 185 | 165 | 160 | 158 | 150 | 144 | 169 | 159 | 170 | 225 | 257 | 282 | 276 |
| Oley Valley School District | 9 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 15 | 17 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 12 |
| Reading School District | 3,062 | 3,622 | 3,521 | 3,400 | 3,372 | 3,344 | 3,153 | 3,075 | 3,360 | 3,764 | 4,256 | 4,799 | 4,651 | 4,567 |
| Schuylkill Valley School District | 25 | 25 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 21 | 26 |
| Tulpehocken Area School District | 55 | 62 | 58 | 60 | 56 | 59 | 47 | 39 | 41 | 35 | 36 | 31 | 27 | 36 |
| Twin Valley School District | 16 | 13 | 20 | 18 | 12 | 19 | 16 | 9 | 10 | 21 | 18 | 32 | 39 | 32 |
| Wilson School District | 57 | 70 | 57 | 36 | 31 | 36 | 30 | 36 | 43 | 49 | 61 | 61 | 84 | 77 |
| Wyomissing Area School District | 56 | 45 | 32 | 46 | 38 | 50 | 53 | 42 | 38 | 38 | 50 | 46 | 51 | 57 |
| INDICATORS | TREND | BERKS COUNTY |
|---|---|
| Students Eligible for Free/Reduced Price Lunch |  Increasing |
| Prekindergarten Participation | Increasing |
| English Language Learners | Increasing |
| Students Receiving Special Education Services | Increasing |
| Per Student Spending |  Maintaining |
| High School Cohort Graduation Rate | Increasing |
| Education Levels of Adults | Not Applicable |
| Education Levels of Adults, by Race/Ethnicity | Not Applicable |
| Brain Drain/Gain | Maintaining |
| Plans of High School Graduates | Not Applicable |
| Enrollment in Local Colleges |  Decreasing |
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