ABOUT US

 The International Welcome Center serves Richland One families in the following ways:

• Welcome all language-other-than-English (LOTE) families and provide them with information about services available to meet their students' needs.
  
  
• Assist parents in completing documents required for compliance with OCR and Title III regulations. Key district documents are available in five (5) languages.
  
  
• Assess language proficiency of LOTE students new to South Carolina schools using the WIDA Screener.
  
  
• Assign students to schools based on WIDA Screener results or transfer documents from other SC schools. Use grade placement procedures as required by state mandates.
  
  
• Send information about tested students to schools for their permanent records and to inform planning and instruction. This process assists schools in officially documenting services provided to Multilingual Learners (MLs) in the event of a state or federal audit.
  
  
• Provide emergency Spanish/English or English/Spanish interpretation. In the event school personnel need to communicate orally with Spanish-speaking parents, school staff may call the International Welcome Center at (803) 212-1475 and request assistance.
  
  
• Translate simple, non-official communications from English into Spanish (notes about field trips, school events, etc).
  
  
• Coordinate official interpretation and translation services for school staff in most languages represented by the district ESOL families.
  
  
• Coordinate workshops for parents on various topics. 

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STAFF

Paul Spence, Coordinator

Phone: (803) 212-1475
Email: paul.Spence@richlandone.org

Alicia Arias, Bilingual Administrative Assistant

Phone: (803) 212-1475
Email: maria.arias@richlandone.org

Jonathan White, ESOL Consultant

Phone: (803) 212-1475
Email:  jonathan.white@richlandone.org

Demetrica May, Data Specialist and Bilingual School Liaison

Phone: (803) 212-1475
Email: demetrica.may@richlandone.org

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International Welcome Center

2612 Covenant Road

Columbia, SC  29204

Phone: (803) 212-1475

Fax: (803) 769-7334

Operating Hours: Monday - Friday, 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM 

 

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If you live with another family, need to establish guardianship of a student, or cannot provide these documents for other reasons, please contact the Registrar's Office.

 

1310 Lyon Street

Columbia, SC  29204

Phone: (803) 231-6944

 

Please visit our Frequently Asked Questions section for very important information about our center, school programs, and other community resources.