Kearsarge Regional School District | Student Support Services

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 has made it necessary to revise the Kearsarge Regional School District’s original compliance guide issued in 1993. This manual is meant to give school administrators and teachers basic information regarding English Language Learners (ELLs) in an easily accessible format.

In our district the term English language learner (ELL) includes mostly adopted children from other countries who range from non-English speakers to fluent English speakers. However, ELLs can include a wide range of students including those who have come with family members. Some may be immigrants who are non-English proficient (NEP), they may have limited English proficiency (LEP), or they may have been born in this country but come from homes where a language other than English is spoken. Some ELLs may be fluent speakers of English but have not yet become proficient in reading and writing. As a result of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), students who are limited English proficient are closely monitored by state and federal agencies by annual English language proficiency testing (ACCESS) and by annual academic state testing (NECAP). Students are considered proficient when they can compete with their native English speaking peers in all English instruction and have scored fluent in all areas of the language proficiency test.

Should questions arise that are not covered by this document, then the district will rely on the Equal Access, The New Hampshire Legal Compliance Manual for Instructing & Assessing Students Learning English edited by Christine Davidson Noon of the New Hampshire Department of Education.

Identification of Students

New students will be identified through the Home Language (APPENDIX A) Survey which will be given as part of the registration process. The target populations include students defined in the Introduction under paragraph two. It is the responsibility of the Principal or the Guidance Department to carry out this identification process. When a student is first identified, an initial formal interview with the parent(s) will be conducted by the ESOL teacher/coordinator. APPENDIX B will be completed during that interview. In addition, an ESOL team will be established with the ESOL teacher as the chairperson. The ESOL team will consist of the principal, ESOL teacher, classroom teacher(s), and any other staff providing ancillary services. The functions of the ESL team are as follows:

·To ensure the implementation of the identification, assessment, and

placement procedures as outlined in this document.

· To ensure coordination of all programs and facilitate collaboration among staff members

· To review the progress of students in the program

· To supply support and training for staff members

Initial Assessment

When students have been identified as possible candidates for ESOL services, their English language proficiency will be assessed. English skills to be assessed are the following: (Noon, 2005, pg. 10)

·Grades K and 1 – listening, speaking, and pre-literacy skills (reading and writing readiness, including letter recognition, formation, phonemic awareness, etc)

·Grades 2 through 12 – listening, speaking, writing, and if receiving Title III funds, “higher order” comprehension

Either the Idea Proficiency Test (IPT) or the Assessing Comprehension & Communication in English from State to State (ACCESS) Screener will be used when conducting the assessment. The test will be administered by a certified ESOL teacher trained in the administration of this test. Students will qualify for ESOL services as follows: (Noon, 2005, pg. 11)

·Grades K and 1 – services must be provided unless students score FEP on listening, and speaking, and at the highest levels in pre-literacy skills in reading and writing.

·Grades 2 through 12 – services must be offered to parents unless student scores FEP on the oral, and competent in reading and writing.

The district is not required (under NCLB) to obtain permission from parents for proficiency testing. Permission is required in order to provide ESOL services. The permission form can be found as APPENDIX C. The interim between identification and placement shall be no longer than 15 days. According to NCLB law: (Noon, 2005, pg. 11)

·parents may “decline to enroll their child in a program or to choose another program or method of instruction, if available”

·“parents have the right to have their child immediately removed from am ESOL or bilingual language instruction program upon their request” Should the parents decide to execute their right to refuse ESOL services, the appropriate release document will be secured.

Instructional Placement Procedure

Using the findings of the language assessment and other school records, the ESOL team will determine the appropriate placement. Placement decisions include (1) the level of ESOL instruction needed, (2) the grade level placement, and (3) the need for ancillary services. According to The New Hampshire Legal Compliance Manual for Instructing & Assessing Students Learning English, (Noon, 2005, pg. 6) “ESOL students will be placed in classrooms or courses with same-age peers. Exception:

·lack of native language schooling and native language proficiency may warrant a lower grade placement

·if a lower placement is necessary, it will not be more than one year below English speaking same-age peers”

The chairperson of the ESOL Team shall communicate the recommended placement to the parents.

Instructional Plan and Materials

Once the permission form for ESOL services has been completed by the parent(s) and returned to the ESOL teacher, an individual learning plan will be developed for the student. APPENDIX D consists of the form that will be completed for each student by the ESOL teacher. This form contains the results of the initial assessment, recommendations for ESOL services, goals, and objectives for listening, speaking, reading, writing, and social development. In addition it list suggested classroom modifications that may be used by classroom teachers.

Since our district, at this time, has a low incidence level of ESOL students, the instructional model will likely be pull-out or a combination of pull-out and push-in services. These terms are defined below.

Pull-out ESOL = ESOL students are pulled out of their mainstream class(es) to learn English and/or content academic support with the assistance of an ESOL teacher.

Push-in ESOL = a program in which the ESOL teacher works with the ESOL student(s) within the mainstream classroom.

The instructional plan and materials used for ESOL will be based on the five proficiency levels of the WIDA English Language Proficiency Standards and aligned with the New Hampshire Curriculum Frameworks, Grade Level Expectations (GLEs), Grade Span Expectations (GSEs for secondary school). The materials used will be up to date and appropriate to the proficiency level of the students. The quantity and quality of material will be comparable to those provided for other subjects. In addition, the majority of the material will be specifically designed for ESOL students. (Noon, 2005, pg. 16) Examples of these are the Oxford Picture Dictionary (Oxford University Press), Longman Dictionary of American English (Longman), and On Your Way to English Guided Reading series (Rigby).

According to NCLB Highly Qualified Teacher requirements, there should be collaboration between the ESOL teacher and the content area teacher in order to produce modified lesson plans of a high quality. “The modifications should be challenging, rather than “dumbied-down”.” (Noon, 2005, pg. 16) “Modifications must be made in any classroom that has current ESOL students in it, and in any classroom that has students who have been partially exited from the ESOL program and are in the two-year monitor period.” (Noon, 2005, pg. 18)

Qualifications of ESOL Staff

According to Noon, 2005, the qualifications for ESOL staff are as follows:

·The state of New Hampshire requires ESOL certification for all ESOL instructional staff.

·Paraprofessionals working directly under the supervision of ESOL certified teachers are to support those teachers, rather than replace them in their responsibilities.

Ongoing Assessment of English Proficiency

The following assessments are required by federal or state law: (Noon, 2005, pg. 20)

·Annual English Language Proficiency assessment, as mandated by NCLB law usually conducted in the spring of each school year using the state mandated test (ACCESS starting in the spring of 2006).

·New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) including all students required by the state.

In addition both formal and informal assessments should be taken on an on-going basis to ensure that ESOL students are making progress in the curriculum including: (Noon, 2005, pg. 20)

·Portfolios containing documentation used for planning, transfers, placement, and exiting decisions.

·Standardized reading test used for system-wide assessment in the school

·Teacher observations

·Records of periodic meetings of ESOL and mainstream teachers

Exiting Decisions and Monitoring

The decision to exit a student from the ESOL program will be made by the ESOL team. The following information must be considered when reclassifying a student to monitored. (Noon, 2005, pg. 22)

·teacher evaluations

·test scores of fluent in oral language and competent/proficient in reading and writing, including evidence of reading comprehension on a level with English-dominant peers.

·performance portfolios

·course work grades

·parent interview

·student interview

Students who are found ready to discontinue ESOL services will be placed on monitoring mode for a period of two years. Students’ academic progress must be closely followed and brief reports filed in the student’s ESOL file. The first follow up monitoring should be conducted within two weeks of reclassification. If monitoring shows that the student is falling behind in classroom work and/or English language skills, then the student must immediately receive ESOL or other appropriate services. (Noon, 2005, pg. 23)

Program Evaluation

APPENDIX E will be used by the Kearsarge Regional School District to evaluate the adequacy of services provided for students of Limited English Proficiency. The evaluation shall be conducted yearly by the Director of Student Services and at least one building principal who has ESOL students in his/her school.

Special Education Referrals

ESOL students should be given sufficient time to make some progress in English (generally two or three years). ESOL students should not be penalized for having different learning styles. If an ESOL student displays difficulty in learning, then the following procedure should be followed.

Procedural steps for distinguishing linguistic needs and special needs: (Noon, 2005, pg.14)

1. identify ESOL students and provide services

2. if suitable progress is not made, then begin to gather work samples

3. administer language dominance test

4. decide whether to test in native language or English

5. make formal referral

6. obtain a translator if testing in native language

7. meet with ESOL staff, special education staff, testers, and translators to clarify testing guidelines

8. administer test

9. hold a team meeting to determine if there is a disability

10. recommend identification of disability to parents, if appropriate

11. develop and implement an IEP using both ESOL and special education resources

High School Credit for ESOL

ESOL students receiving services of one period per day will receive full credit just as other students receive credit for taking a foreign language.

References

Irujo, Suzanne and Noon, Christine. (2005). Equal ACCESS, The New Hampshire Legal Compliance Manual for Instructing & Assessing Students Learning English. New Hampshire Department of Education.

Last Modified on 10/26/2009 3:28:36 PM