English Language Learners (ELL) Services and Support Plan

Template

School District of XYZ

Date

Team Members

English Language Learners (ELL): Services and Support Plan

Template

The School District of ______is committed to providing an equal opportunity education to all children, including ELL children. Academic support will be provided to students who have difficulty reading, writing, listening, speaking and comprehending English. Our goal is to enable ELL students to become successful in the regular education classroom, the overall school, and the community at large.

Identification, Initial Assessment, Placement

and English Language Proficiency Classification

English Language Learners will be identified through the use of the districtHome Language Survey and other data sources. Completion of the Home Language Survey will be required of all new student registrants including kindergarten. If responses on the Home Language Survey indicate that the child’s first language is not English or alanguage other than English is spoken in the home, building level personnelresponsible for registering the student will forward the form to the building principal. The Home Language Survey will be reviewed to determine if further information is needed including:

  • Whether or not the student is a newcomer to the United States
  • If the student has received any ESL/Bilingual assistance in the past
  • If the student’s records indicate an English Proficiency Level
  • The status of the student’s grades and academic performance
  • Any other academic indicators that may suggest the student is struggling

If there is any indication that the student may be in need of ELL services, the student will be screened with the W-APT Screener, if an ACCESS proficiency score is not available.

Parents will be notified within thirty days of the student’s language proficiency level and why the student has been identified as needing ELL support.

Academic Support for Students

Academic support for students at levels 1-5 will be determined by a team that may include the principal, classroom teacher, guidance counselor, Title I teacher, etc. The team will review all available data sources to develop aLanguage Development Plan (LDP) that identifies:

  • Date of arrival
  • Native language(s) spoken
  • English proficiency level upon arrival
  • Suggested program interventions

The LDP will be maintained in the student’s academic folder and will be shared, as appropriate, with all teachers and support staff. The LDP will also document a plan for the ongoing academic assessment of ELL students.

Students will be placed in age appropriate classrooms with teachers who use a variety of student-centered methodologies such as cooperative or small group learning, thematic instruction, and integrated approaches to language arts.

The School District of ______will not retain students in a grade solely on the basis of their English proficiency.

In-class interventions will include “sheltered content instruction” (teaching

language through content by contextualizing the English) such as:

  • Simplifying vocabulary
  • Enhancing content through pictures, hands-on activities, graphic organizers, small group instruction, visual props, and drawing
  • Using alternate assessments which demonstrate content learning while minimizing the language barrier

Pull-out interventions may include:

  • RtI intervention time
  • Title I support outside of class to work on language development and to pre-teach classroom concepts and vocabulary
  • Leveled Literacy Intervention
  • Extended day programs including before school, after school, and/or summer school
  • Supported or structured study hall
  • Peer tutor
  • Mentor
  • Student advocate
  • Computer assisted instruction, e.g. Rosetta Stone

Parents will be consulted in the development of the LDP and must agree to academic support services that are identified.

Monitoring Student Progress

Multiple measures will be used to monitor student progress including ACCESS for ELLs™, WKCE results, teacher observations, report card grades, grade-level assessments, etc. Student progress will be analyzed on an annual basis and decisions will be made about individual student needs. These needs will be addressed through the LDP.

On an annual basis, parents will be invited and encouraged to attend the meeting for writing the LDP.

Regular student progress reports will be provided for parents including quarterly progress reports and report cards. Parents will be encouraged to attend parent/teacher conferences that are held twice a school year.

Exiting and Monitoring Students

A student is automatically reclassified as Fully English Proficient, or no longer identified as ELL when the student reaches:

  • Level 6 composite (overall) score on the ACCESS for ELLs™ in grades K-12

Or

  • Level 5 composite score or above plus a minimum literacy subscore of 5.0 or above on the ACCESS for ELLs™ in grades 4-12

Students may be manually reclassified as Fully English Proficient when the student achieves a composite score of 5.0 or above and the student shows clear evidence of English proficiency, but was not automatically reclassified because the student did not meet the literacy subscore benchmark. To reclassify a student, two pieces of evidence of academic performance are needed including WKCE scores, writing or performance samples, and academic records.

For two years from the date of exiting ELL status, the district will monitor the academic progress of each student to ensure that reclassification was not premature. A guidance counselor or assigned staff member will monitor grades on a quarterly basis and develop a plan to provide academic support, if needed. An annual review will be documented including gathering classroom performance data from teachers, analyzing grade reports, reviewing WKCE scores, and getting input from parents. Parents and teachers will participate in the annual review and will be part of the decision should a student need to re-enter as a student with English Language Proficiency status.

Program Evaluation

On an annual basis services for all ELL students will be reviewed through:

  • ESEA needs assessments and reporting process
  • WKCE data retreat/annual review of disaggregated data
  • Review of the LDPs and the results and local assessment measures
  • Results of the Annual Measurable Achievement Outcomes (AMAOs) determined by the state.
  • Student and parent feedback

Support for Teachers

Teachers of ELL students will be interviewed by the principal each fall to determine what assistance is needed to support ELL students in the classroom. Possible options include:

  • Providing on-site support and professional development from the Title III Consortium ELL consultant focused on best practices strategies for teaching ELL children
  • Providing on-site observation and assessment of classroom practices and student behaviors to assist in the development of a plan for support in the classroom
  • Participating in regional and statewide professional development opportunities
  • Providing resources to support both classroom learning and professional development
  • Providing an instructional assistant, contingent upon need and funding

Support for Parents

The School District of ______will make a serious effort to communicate with language minority parents or guardians in the language used in the home. This will include the translation of all written documents that normally go home to parents in any languages for which there is a significant need. If necessary, translating services will be provided for parents to ensure their participation in school activities.

Parent notification will take place on an annual basis, in the fall of each school year. The notice will be sent home in the language of the family (whenever feasible) and will be signed by the child’s parents. A copy of the signed approval of placement is kept in the child’s cumulative folder.

In addition to including the parents of ELL children on the same basis as all children, the School District of ______will:

  • Ask parents to help with district translations
  • Make phone calls to clarify any questions parents may have or encourage attendance at events
  • Provide parent training/information to ensure that parents understand their rights and responsibilities in the educational process
  • Discuss ACCESS for ELLs™ results and what the different English proficiency levels mean, how students can exit from the program
  • Provide information on local resources and services available to families

On an annual or bi-annual basis, a survey will be conducted with parents of ELL students to determine what went well, what they thought could be improved and how they would like to academic support provided.

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Revised Fall, 2012