Background & Context
Wenatchee School District in Washington State serves approximately 7,000 students across 12 schools. Multilingual learners — largely Hispanic — make up about 25% of the student population, roughly 1,700 students.
The district is deeply committed to celebrating bilingualism and ensuring equitable opportunities for every learner. Brittany Hacho, the district's PK–12 English Language Development Trainer, supports multilingual students across the entire system.
"I get to focus on helping our multilingual learners... and supporting our staff on how to create the best educational environment for them."
— Brittany Hacho, PK–12 ELD Trainer, Wenatchee School District
Even before implementing Summit K12, Hacho had prioritized academic fluency — promoting student discourse, visual scaffolds, and structured small-group conversation throughout the district.
The Challenge
When Wenatchee analyzed their WIDA assessment data, they found a persistent problem: speaking scores were stagnant. Students weren't gaining oral fluency at the rate the district had hoped for.
"We realized that our speaking scores were stagnant. We were not seeing any growth."
— Brittany Hacho
The WIDA testing timeline made matters worse. Testing happens in February, but results don't come back until late May. By the time teachers had data, the school year was nearly over. Students were heading into assessments without clear guidance — and without confidence.
The district needed a way to monitor speaking practice and provide targeted feedback at scale, without waiting months for results.
The Search for a Better Solution
Wenatchee needed something that could close the gap between instruction and assessment — a tool that gave teachers real-time feedback on speaking performance and helped students understand exactly what stronger speaking required.
After learning about Connect to Literacy™ at a conference, the district launched a pilot. The results were immediate. Teachers could sit with a student, administer a speaking practice task, and receive AI-supported scoring and personalized guidance on the spot — no waiting, no guesswork.
The Solution
Wenatchee targeted students in grades four through six. Teachers helped students understand what proficiency actually looked like — and gave them the feedback to get there.
"You said five words... the prompt was expecting two to three sentences. You need to talk a little bit more."
— Wenatchee teacher, coaching a student in real time
Students practiced again and again, reviewed results immediately, and acted on feedback right away. They could see — clearly — what happened when they pushed themselves to say more.
"Oh wow, when I do this, I score higher."
— Wenatchee student
The impact was dramatic. Two-thirds of all targeted multilingual learners exited ELD services. Even students who didn't fully exit showed significant growth, and the district came away with a clear roadmap for continued development.
One fourth-grade student became a symbol of the shift. He had been quiet and anxious about learning English. By the end of the year, he was the one asking his teacher to pull him for practice.
"I'm ready. Are you pulling me today?"
— Wenatchee fourth-grade student
Most Impactful Features
- Immediate, WIDA-aligned speaking feedback that closes the data gap
- AI-supported scoring that makes progress monitoring scalable for teachers
- Personalized learning plans adjusted to address individual growth areas
- Structured speaking practice that builds academic language output
- Real-time visibility that shifts student mindset from anxiety to pride
Ongoing Partnership and Support
Wenatchee didn't just improve speaking outcomes — they changed how students felt about the assessment experience. WIDA shifted from something students feared to something they looked forward to.
"It's not something they have to do. It's something they get to do... they get to show off their bilingual superpowers."
— Brittany Hacho
Summit K12 helped Wenatchee learners find their voice — and the confidence to use it. That shift, from quiet and anxious to proud and prepared, is exactly the kind of outcome that lasts long after a test score fades.
Every success story starts with a single conversation. Let's connect.