Multilingual Education & Migrant Programs
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Hays CISD proudly serves over 3,050 students for whom English is not their primary language. In Texas, the predominant language of immigrants is Spanish, however, Hays CISD is fortunate to have 21 additional languages spoken. The current languages besides English and Spanish are German, Russian, Bosnian, Polish, Hebrew, Urdu, Arabic, Gujarati, Marathi, Hindi, Mandarin, Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, Tagalog, Afrikaans, Amharic, American Sign Language, Korean, Khmer, and Swahili.
Bilingual Program Mission & Goals
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Mission: Hays CISD is dedicated to preparing students to be bilingual, biliterate, and bicultural through our Dual Language Immersion and ESL programs.
Goals:
- Achieve academic proficiency in all subjects, meeting or exceeding expectations.
- Enable students to maintain skills in their primary languages as well as develop skills in their secondary language, thus enabling them to function fully in the general academic program and in future occupational opportunities.
- Provide opportunities to develop and identify with their cultural heritage as well as cultivating an understanding of other cultures, thereby developing a positive attitude toward fellow students, their families, and their communities.
- Become bilingual/biliterate members of the community as well as life long learners.
Department Staff

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Patricia Melgar-Cook
Director of Multilingual Education & Migrant Programs
patricia.melgar-cook@hayscisd.net
(512) 268-2141 x45013Ben Estrada
LPAC/TELPAS Coordinator
ben.estrada@hayscisd.net
(512) 268-2141 x45017Carolina Duncan
K-2 Bilingual/ESL Specialist
carolina.duncan@hayscisd.net
(512) 268-2141 x45097
Joy Van De Hoef
3-5 Bilingual/ESL Specialist
joy.vandehoef@hayscisd.net
(512) 268-2141 x45029
Sara Sparks
6-12 Bilingual Specialist
sara.sparks@hayscisd.net
(512) 268-2141 x45048
Sylvia Lozano-Valle
C & I Translator
sylvia.lozano-valle@hayscisd.net
(512) 268-2141 x45066
Debbie Lognion
Department Secretary
debbie.lognion@hayscisd.net
(512) 268-2141 x45016