As of January, 552 students — over 7.3% of the district’s 7,563 students — are ML/ELs across Bozeman’s 13 schools. Most have arrived in recent years from Central and South America, bringing both challenges and opportunities to local classrooms.

Many families, primarily from Venezuela and Honduras, are seeking jobs and stability after leaving behind crime, poverty and political upheaval in their home countries, according to Vanessa Zamora, executive director of Bienvenidos a Gallatin Valley.