The ELL program is for students
whose home language is any language other than English. Students are referred to as English Learners (ELs) or Multilinguals (MLs) because some come from backgrounds where more than one language is spoken in the home. The overall goal of the ELL program is to support students on the path to biliteracy and honing their multilingual talents in the general ed classroom and the real world. There are different methods of instruction used in the ELL program.
At Promise Academy, push-in and pull-out are utilized. Students who qualify for services and parents have given permission for services to be in placed can get anywhere to 30 min for a few days a week or up to two hours (depending on the need). Generally, MLs get 1 hour daily service of direct instruction.
Our Screener test is from WIDA (based out of the University of Wisconsin at Madison). Students in Kindergarten during the first semester only test with listening and speaking. In order to qualify for services, a student must score below 4.5 for oral language. For students in first grade, there has to be a overall composite score under 5.0 and literacy is 4.5 with all four domains of the Kindergarten . Students screened from grades 2 – 5 must have below 4.5 in literacy and overall composite to qualify for services.
For students who score between 3.8 and 4.3 in the overall composite and literacy for WIDA ACCESS qualify for tailored services and less time.
Our EOY state test is known as the WIDA ACCESS 2.0 and measures students language proficiency in four domains: listening, reading, writing, and speaking. Students who have overall scores of 4.4 and literacy scores of 4.2 and above will exit direct ELL instruction and become transitional students. These are students who are monitored by general education teachers and the state for four years. After the four years are complete, they will be marked as F or former MLs by the state.
Students may qualify for services for anywhere from 1 – 7 years (keep in mind that it takes 9 years to become proficient in a language).
T
– Transitional student
ML
– Multilingual learner
W
– Waived student (parents refuse EL direct services)
F
– Former ELs
EL
– English learner
