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 2017, 7% of students in Berks County were English language learners, up from 6% in 2008. The number of English language learners increased 20% to 4,600 in 2017. Pennsylvania overall had English language learners make up 3% of its students in 2017. That reflects a 22% increase in the number since 2008.
Among local school districts, Reading had by far the highest proportion of English language learners at 22%, followed by Muhlenberg which had only 5%. Less than 1% of students were English language learners in eight districts: Boyertown, Brandywine Heights Area, Conrad Weiser Area, Daniel Boone Area, Hamburg Area, Oley Valley, Schuylkill Valley and Twin Valley. Berks' rate was higher than surrounding counties, which ranged from 1% to 6%.
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| 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 2.6% | 2.7% | 2.6% | 2.6% | 2.7% | 2.7% | 2.8% | 3.0% | 3.0% | 3.2% |
| Berks County | 5.5% | 6.2% | 6.0% | 5.8% | 5.8% | 5.9% | 5.7% | 5.7% | 6.1% | 6.8% |
| Berks County Regions | ||||||||||
| Central | ||||||||||
| Northeast | ||||||||||
| South | ||||||||||
| Southeast | ||||||||||
| West | ||||||||||
| Reading city | ||||||||||
| Berks County Peers | ||||||||||
| Chester County | 3.2% | 3.9% | 3.1% | 2.9% | 2.8% | 2.8% | 3.0% | 3.2% | 3.3% | 3.7% |
| Lancaster County | 5.0% | 5.2% | 4.8% | 4.9% | 4.8% | 4.6% | 4.5% | 4.5% | 4.4% | 4.6% |
| Lebanon County | 4.4% | 4.5% | 4.4% | 4.2% | 4.3% | 4.4% | 4.2% | 4.4% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
| Lehigh County | 5.9% | 6.0% | 5.4% | 5.3% | 5.3% | 5.0% | 4.9% | 5.3% | 5.4% | 6.1% |
| Montgomery County | 2.4% | 2.5% | 2.4% | 2.3% | 2.5% | 2.5% | 2.7% | 2.8% | 3.0% | 3.1% |
| Schuylkill County | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.7% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 1.1% |
| School Districts | ||||||||||
| 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% |
| Hamburg Area School District | 0.4% | 0.6% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.5% | 0.8% | 0.5% | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.6% |
| Wilson School District | 2.5% | 3.1% | 2.5% | 1.6% | 1.4% | 1.6% | 1.4% | 1.6% | 2.0% | 2.2% |
| Oley Valley School District | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.9% | 1.0% | 0.8% | 0.7% |
| 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% |
| Tulpehocken Area School District | 3.4% | 3.9% | 3.7% | 3.9% | 3.7% | 4.0% | 3.2% | 2.8% | 2.9% | 2.4% |
| Kutztown Area School District | 0.2% | 0.4% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 1.0% | 1.0% |
| Wyomissing Area School District | 3.0% | 2.5% | 1.7% | 2.5% | 2.0% | 2.6% | 2.8% | 2.2% | 1.9% | 2.0% |
| Boyertown Area School District | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.3% |
| Exeter Township School District | 0.8% | 0.9% | 1.0% | 0.9% | 0.7% | 0.8% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 1.0% |
| Reading School District | 17.5% | 20.3% | 19.7% | 18.7% | 18.7% | 18.9% | 18.0% | 17.8% | 19.3% | 21.5% |
| Governor Mifflin School District | 1.4% | 0.4% | 1.2% | 1.3% | 1.6% | 1.6% | 1.2% | 1.2% | 1.3% | 1.6% |
| Twin Valley School District | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.6% |
| Antietam School District | 2.5% | 3.2% | 3.1% | 3.5% | 2.2% | 2.3% | 3.2% | 2.9% | 2.4% | 4.1% |
| Muhlenberg School District | 4.6% | 5.3% | 4.7% | 4.5% | 4.4% | 4.3% | 4.1% | 4.7% | 4.3% | 4.6% |
| 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% |
| Fleetwood Area School District | 2.4% | 2.0% | 1.7% | 1.3% | 1.4% | 1.5% | 1.6% | 1.9% | 1.2% | 1.0% |
| Schuylkill Valley School District | 1.2% | 1.3% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.6% | 0.5% |
| 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 45,694 | 47,828 | 45,966 | 45,769 | 47,135 | 47,347 | 48,439 | 51,319 | 52,294 | 55,863 |
| Berks County | 3,840 | 4,354 | 4,196 | 4,067 | 4,071 | 4,065 | 3,905 | 3,898 | 4,152 | 4,602 |
| Berks County Regions | ||||||||||
| Central | ||||||||||
| Northeast | ||||||||||
| South | ||||||||||
| Southeast | ||||||||||
| West | ||||||||||
| Reading city | ||||||||||
| Berks County Peers | ||||||||||
| Chester County | 2,368 | 3,099 | 2,492 | 2,401 | 2,418 | 2,476 | 2,659 | 2,851 | 2,910 | 3,112 |
| Lancaster County | 3,468 | 3,581 | 3,293 | 3,320 | 3,282 | 3,129 | 3,025 | 2,998 | 2,979 | 3,096 |
| Lebanon County | 829 | 851 | 830 | 799 | 807 | 835 | 805 | 831 | 826 | 840 |
| Lehigh County | 2,990 | 2,999 | 2,716 | 2,665 | 2,694 | 2,541 | 2,466 | 2,698 | 2,791 | 3,167 |
| Montgomery County | 2,656 | 2,733 | 2,654 | 2,557 | 2,710 | 2,736 | 2,889 | 3,068 | 3,224 | 3,350 |
| Schuylkill County | 130 | 134 | 116 | 139 | 170 | 159 | 164 | 158 | 165 | 203 |
| School Districts | ||||||||||
| Daniel Boone Area School District | 19 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 8 | 18 | 11 | 11 | 7 | 10 |
| Hamburg Area School District | 10 | 16 | 18 | 17 | 13 | 19 | 12 | 14 | 11 | 14 |
| Wilson School District | 57 | 70 | 57 | 36 | 31 | 36 | 30 | 36 | 43 | 49 |
| Oley Valley School District | 9 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 15 | 17 | 13 | 12 |
| Conrad Weiser Area School District | 48 | 47 | 36 | 24 | 37 | 24 | 35 | 38 | 20 | 19 |
| Tulpehocken Area School District | 55 | 62 | 58 | 60 | 56 | 59 | 47 | 39 | 41 | 35 |
| Kutztown Area School District | 4 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 13 |
| Wyomissing Area School District | 56 | 45 | 32 | 46 | 38 | 50 | 53 | 42 | 38 | 38 |
| Boyertown Area School District | 15 | 19 | 16 | 19 | 15 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 20 |
| Exeter Township School District | 35 | 42 | 44 | 38 | 29 | 32 | 35 | 36 | 35 | 40 |
| Reading School District | 3,062 | 3,622 | 3,521 | 3,400 | 3,372 | 3,344 | 3,153 | 3,075 | 3,360 | 3,764 |
| Governor Mifflin School District | 58 | 17 | 51 | 57 | 67 | 66 | 50 | 50 | 54 | 66 |
| Twin Valley School District | 16 | 13 | 20 | 18 | 12 | 19 | 16 | 9 | 10 | 21 |
| Antietam School District | 27 | 34 | 33 | 37 | 23 | 24 | 33 | 31 | 25 | 44 |
| Muhlenberg School District | 158 | 185 | 165 | 160 | 158 | 150 | 144 | 169 | 159 | 170 |
| Brandywine Heights Area School District | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 8 |
| Fleetwood Area School District | 66 | 55 | 45 | 35 | 37 | 41 | 43 | 50 | 31 | 24 |
| Schuylkill Valley School District | 25 | 25 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 12 | 10 |
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