DETROIT — To meet the needs of its diverse body of students and families, The Detroit Public Schools System is expanding its bilingual and English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) offerings to students and parents and has announced a new opportunity for teachers to seek tuition reimbursement if they obtain a Bilingual Endorsement.  

 “Our school district serves a richly diverse population of students and we are excited to be able to offer a wider variety of programming to meet their needs,” said Emergency Manager Jack Martin. “We also know that our state and local leaders are working hard to create programs to attract and serve our immigrant population and we want to be at the forefront of those initiatives.”

DPS serves more than 6,000 bilingual students who speak 30 different languages in schools throughout the district, helping them learn English and American culture, while mastering core subject areas.

According to a 2014 report by Global Detroit, Metro Detroit is home to foreign-born immigrants from all continents, except Antarctica. In total, there are more than 100 nations that are individually represented in the data. The Detroit area is home to approximately 397,000 immigrants living in all four counties. Oakland and Wayne are home to the vast majority, the report states.