The Rhode Island Department of Education tracks a number of student demographics, including the number and percentage of multilingual learners (MLLs) in each school and district. This indicator tracks how the proportion of MLL students has changed in the last ten years and how schools compare to one another in the past school year.

Understanding how student demographics change over time can help us understand how the needs of Central Falls students and families change as well. Narratives around Central Falls often note a large number of MLLs, but looking at this data shows a doubling over the last ten years and numbers that keep trending up. With the number of MLL students increasing over time, this can show a need for more MLL certified teachers in Central Falls schools as well as a need for resources and supports specifically tailored to MLLs.