Our program provides language development support to English Learners in grades K-6. All children are placed in grade-level classrooms when they enter elementary school. The amount of English support varies depending on grade level and English language proficiency.
Goals of the ELE Program
The primary goal of our ELE program is to help students become proficient in English and learn the social and academic skills needed to be successful in their grade-level classroom. The program provides language and literacy instruction to the students. Language instruction includes learning social or conversational skills and the academic language and vocabulary needed in the content areas of English language arts, math, science, and social studies. Literacy instruction helps students master the new sounds, spelling patterns, and basic vocabulary of English, and practice strategies to make them better readers and writers in English.
Another important goal of the ELE program is to support the successful adjustment of the students who are new to our country, state or school system. Some of our students face many challenges when they enter our elementary schools: they often need to adjust to a new language, culture, and school; they want to make new friends and feel a part of the classroom community; they have to learn both conversational English and the academic language and concepts of their grade-level curriculum; they may miss their families and friends from native countries or former communities in the USA. We in the ELE program try to help our students with these challenges.
Annual State Testing for English Learners
English Learners participate in state-wide testing every school year. The “No Child Left Behind” law requires annual reporting of English language performance and progress of English Learners. All students in the ELE program in grades K-12 will have their listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills assessed with the ACCESS for ELLs test in January/February of each school year. In addition, English Learners grade 3 and above are required to participate in all spring MCAS / PARCC tests regardless of arrival date at US schools. One exception is the English Language Arts subtest, where schools and families have the option of waiting one year after entry of the English Learner in the US school system.