Lee County Schools asks for funding among rising numbers of immigrant youth

The Lee County School District is making moves to help immigrant youth thrive in the classroom.

The district voted to ask the Florida Department of Education for nearly $2.5 to help English language learners in their schools.

A spokesperson with the school district told me that nearly 10,000 students from 81 countries have come to Lee County in the last six years.

Watch Bella's full report below.

The grants would help bring in more resources and programs for these students to help them learn and understand the English language.

"We're a small but mighty team trying to service over 20,000 ESL students in our school district so we're doing what we can to help," said Sohira Sarmiento, Director of the English for Speakers of Other Languages program.

LCPS says students who don't speak English as their native language make up about 21% of the district and with a drastic increase over the years, they say the resources are necessary.

Plus, Sarmiento says the district is working to help the entire family.

"We're trying to, as much as possible, create a welcoming environment for our students," said Sarmiento. "Part of the immigrant grant what we did was hire two parent engagement specialists so they are in charge of being that liaison between our department and the parents to help them adjust to a new system, not just the school system but the cultural system that they are now a part of."