English Learners at MPS January 2016

Who are our students? O MPS currently has 398 EL students enrolled K-12 O Current EL students speak 10 different languages: O Arabic O Burmese O Haitian Creole O Hmong O Karen (3) O Nuer O Quichua O Somali (1) O Spanish (2) O Vietnamese

EL Trend Data

Education for English Learners Act O The Education for English Learners Act, Minnesota Statutes, 124D.58 to 124D.64 governs programs and services for English Learners (ELs). Minnesota Statute 124D.59 defines an English Learner as “a pupil in kindergarten through grade 12 who meets two requirements.”

124D.59 English Learner Definition O (1) the pupil, as declared by a parent or guardian first learned a language other than English, comes from a home where the language usually spoken is other than English, or usually speaks a language other than English; O A student’s home language is determined through the completion of a Home Language Questionnaire (HLQ) at enrollment.

124D.59 English Learner Definition O (2) the pupil, is determined by (a) a valid assessment measuring English language proficiency AND (b) developmentally appropriate measures (which may include teacher judgment, observation & parent recommendations) to lack the necessary English skills to participate fully in academic classes taught in English. O MPS uses the W-APT (WIDA-ACCESS Placement Test) for language proficiency screening.

124D.61 General Requirements for Programs O “A district that enrolls one or more English learners must implement an educational program that includes at a minimum of the following (five) requirements: O (1) Identification and reclassification criteria for English learners and program entrance and exit criteria for English learners must be documented by the district, applied uniformly to English learners, and made available to parents and other stakeholders upon request.

MPS EL Program Information O The MPS EL handbook can be found on our website at the following address:

MPS’s Identification Process For the academic success of a student with limited English proficiency, it is important to properly identify and place students for EL services. The identification process will include the following: 1. Completion of the Home Language Questionnaire (a copy of this can be found in Appendix A) by parent/guardian of all new students in Marshall Public Schools. (A positive response to items on the questionnaire does not identify a student as limited English proficient; it merely helps to identify students who potentially should be considered to be EL students.) 2. An oral interview will be administered in English by one of the following: an admin assistant, a school counselor, EL teacher, or administrator. (To view the questions and the scoring rubric, see Appendix A.) 3. Assessments in the areas of reading, writing, listening, and speaking will be considered when determining student proficiency. The assessment tool used is the W-APT. MCAs, NWEA, ACCESS and AIMSWeb data are also considered for placement. 4. Information regarding previous EL service, classroom work samples, and grades will also be considered.

MPS’s Exit from EL Program Criteria Students in Grades K-4 1. Achieve an overall score of 5 or higher on the ACCESS with no category with a score less than 4 (Grades K-4). 2. Achieve grade level on the Reading MCAs (Grade 4). Grade level is identified by the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) as Meeting or Exceeding on the test. 3. Achieve grade level on the Reading NWEAs (Grades K-4). Grade level is considered to be the normed RIT score for Fall, Winter, or Spring. 4. Achieve proficiency on AIMSweb testing (Grades K-4). 5. Recommendation from the EL teacher and building administrator or counselor based on student work and observation.

MPS’s Exit from EL Program Criteria Students in Grades Achieve an overall score of 5 or higher on the ACCESS with no category with a score less than 4 (Grades 5-8). 2. Achieve grade level on the Reading MCAs (Grade 5-8). Grade level is identified by the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) as Meeting or Exceeding on the test. 3. Achieve grade level on the Reading NWEAs (Grades 5-8). Grade level is considered to be the normed RIT score for Fall, Winter, or Spring. 4. Achieve proficiency on AIMSweb testing (Grades 5-8). 5. Recommendation from the EL teacher and building administrator or counselor based on student work and observation.

MPS’s Exit from EL Program Criteria Students in Grades Achieve an overall score of 5 or higher on the ACCESS with no category with a score less than 4 (Grades 9-12). 2. Pass MCA III Reading test (Grade 10). 3. Achieve grade level on the Reading NWEAs (Grades 9-10). Grade level is considered to be the normed RIT score for Fall, Winter, or Spring. 4. Recommendation from the EL teacher and building administrator or counselor based on student work and observation.

124D.61 General Requirements for Programs O (2) a written plan of services that describes programming by English proficiency level made available to parents upon request. The plan must articulate the amount and scope of service offered to English learners through an educational program for English learners; O (3) professional development opportunities for ESL, bilingual education, mainstream, and all staff working with English learners which are: O Coordinated with the district’s professional development activities O Related to the needs of English learners; and O Ongoing;

Services Provided Park Side (PS) Grades K-2 Newcomer/BeginnerPull-out, Push-in, Co-Teaching IntermediatePull-out, Push-in, Co-Teaching AdvancedPull-out, Push-in, Co-Teaching West Side (WS) Grades 3-4 Newcomer/BeginnerPull-out, Push-in, Co-Teaching IntermediatePull-out, Push-in, Co-Teaching AdvancedPull-out, Push-in, Co-Teaching Middle School (MS) Grades 5-8 Newcomer/BeginnerPull-out, Sheltered Math Class IntermediatePull-out, Sheltered Math Class AdvancedPull-out High School (HS) Grades 9-12 Newcomer/BeginnerPull-out, Sheltered Math, Science IntermediatePull-out, Sheltered Math, Science, Co- Teaching in Science AdvancedPull-out, Push-in, Co-Teaching in Science

124D.61 General Requirements for Programs O (4) to the extent possible, avoid isolating English learners for a substantial part of the school day; and O (5) in predominately nonverbal subjects, such as art, music, and physical education, permit English learners to participate fully and on an equal basis with their contemporaries in public school classes provided for these subjects. To the extent possible, the district must assure to pupils enrolled in a program for English learners an equal and meaningful opportunity to participate fully with other pupils in all extracurricular activities.

What is MPS doing to address our increasing EL population? O Increased EL staff O – 8.34 FTE O Jan – FTE O 9 licensed, others working toward licensure O Evaluated program O Researched what a good program looks like O Providing more detailed, ongoing staff development for all staff—SIOP O Increased training for the Minority Advocates

What is MPS doing to address our increasing EL population? O Welcome back meeting for K-12 families in the fall O Welcome meeting for new Karen families O 2 parent meetings at all levels throughout the school year

Frequently Asked Questions O What happens when a 17 year old new to country student comes to the high school? Will he graduate? O Do you speak other languages? How do you teach them? O What do ELL teachers teach the students? O How do you teach high school students primary material in an engaging way?

Student experience O Muna Mohamed (2013 MHS grad) currently a sophomore at SMSU

Thank You!