The growth in the number of students learning English is one of several ways the district is becoming more diverse.

It might be easy to miss, but the Lee’s Summit R-7 School District is changing.

English Language Development Coordinator Melisha Otero is in her sixth year with the district. In that time, she’s seen the number of English language learner (ELL) students increase dramatically.

During the 2020-21 school year, the number of ELL students hit a recent low of 222, according to state records. By the 2023-24 school year, the latest state data available, that number had nearly doubled.

Otero said it’s even higher now as the district prepares to enter the school year with about 550 active ELL students. Another 184 who recently learned English are being monitored. Defunded, but not

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