ENGLISH LEARNERS (EL) PROGRAMS

The purpose of the pre-kindergarten to grade twelve (12) programs is to ensure that all English Learners (EL) students are provided with an appropriate public education to meet their academic, social and cultural needs. Students who speak a second language at home are assessed by a WIDA certified English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher when they first enter our school district. Students are administered the WIDA MODEL – English Language Proficiency Test to determine if English language services are required. The results of this assessment, plus one other indicator, determine if the student should be enrolled in an English language program.

The Bilingual Program (Spanish and Haitian Creole) – is a full-time program of instruction, which a child is entitled to receive based on Federal and State law, given in the native language of the EL student and also in English

Current Programs

  • Pre- K Bilingual Native Language Support – Augusta Pre-School / Providers
  • Transitional Bilingual Education in Kindergarten to Second Grades – Florence Avenue (Spanish)– Berkeley Terrace (Spanish)–
  • Mount Vernon (Spanish & Haitian Creole) –Chancellor Ave. (Haitian Creole)
  • K-5 Newcomer Program – Berkeley Terrace
  • Spanish and Haitian Creole Bilingual Support for Content Classes – Union Avenue Middle School and University Middle School
  • Irvington High School Bilingual Co-Teaching Model for Grades 9 and 10 for Math, Science, and Social Studies Classes – Program Offered to Spanish and Haitian Creole students with low English proficiency levels.

The English as a Second Language Program – a daily developmental second language program of one or two periods of instruction per day to achieve English language proficiency as the alternate program to a bilingual program. All district schools offer ESL programs.

The Newcomer Program – a program designed to provide targeted support to students who have newly arrived to the country. This program will support both foundational literacy and acculturation in a pull-out, half-day setting for students in grades K-5.

The Sheltered Instruction (SI) Model – a research-based and validated model of sheltered instruction that has been successfully used across the U.S. for over 20 years. All district staff have received professional development on the SIOP Model, which helps teachers plan and deliver lessons that allow ELs to acquire academic knowledge as they develop English language proficiency.

EL Enrichment After School Program – a program that provides homework help as well as intensive reading, writing and speaking activities to support daily content instruction.

Mango Program – a computer-delivered language and literacy program that works to close the achievement gap at an accelerated rate by automatically creating a unique curriculum for each student based on his or her needs. There was a pilot program during 15-16 school year at Florence Avenue. Expansion of the program will occur at Chancellor Avenue and Augusta Preschool during the 16-17 school year.

The Enrollment, Placement and Assessment Steps for ELs –

  • Home Language Survey
  • Administration of an English Proficiency Testing
  • Parental Notification & Consent
  • Program Placement
  • Yearly WIDA ACCESS Proficiency Assessments
    Exiting Program Based on WIDA ACCESS Scores

WORLD LANGUAGE PROGRAMS

Elementary School Program:

  • All 4th and 5th grade students are receiving Spanish twice a week for one period a day. Level C for 4th grade and Level D for 5th grade, second year of full implementation.

Middle School Program

  • All grades (6 to 8) are using the following programs: Spanish (Sanitllana) and French (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt).

High School Program

  • In addition to offering a sequential Spanish and French program at the high school, we also introduced the Mango Language Learning Program during the 2020-2021 school year, providing additional language learning support digitally
  • Curriculums were purchased for their consistency to national and state curriculum, uniformity / sequence of second language acquisition process and its alignment to CCSS.