English Language Learners (ELL): Back to School Night English Language Learners (ELL): Back to School Night Welcome and thank you for coming!!!

Overview Meet the ELL staff Who is the ELL program designed for? How do we determine who qualifies for this program? Grading policies Description of the program and its goals The materials used How you can help at home? How are the students exited from the program? Question and answer period Viewing of all materials

Who is the ELL Program designed for? The ELL Program is designed for students who are not proficient in English and whose first language is any language other than English. The time in the program depends upon each individual student. Generally they remain in the program for about two years.

How do students qualify for the program?

Each student who enters school with a first language other than English or who seems to be struggling with English is given a test called the Mac II. –This test allows each student to be tested in speaking, listening, reading, and writing in English. –The scores on this test allow us to see at what level the student is able to speak, listen, read, and write in English. For example: a student who has no English at all is a basic beginner ELL student. –If their scores fall in an ELL student range, the student will be placed in the ELL program. These ranges vary depending on the student’s grade level and when in the year they are being tested.

Grading Policies

ELL grading policies vary depending on grade level –For grades K-5, no grades are given. This is why you often may see NM (no mark) in place of their grades. –For grades 6,7,8, they are given an ELL grade and grading in other classes depends upon the individual teachers. –For grades 9-12, they receive grades in all classes including ELL.

Description of Program

The goal of the ELL program for all grades K-12 is to provide instruction to help the ELL students develop a proficiency in the English language so that they can achieve success in their mainstream classrooms, content area classes, and general school environment. The ELL program uses a theme-based approach to teaching the various content areas such as science, social studies, math, and language arts. At the elementary level, ELL students are pulled out of their mainstream classroom and provided with forty minutes of ELL instruction.

The primary focus for grades K-5 is to provide instruction through the use of themed units, in order to help students achieve the skills needed to learn the specific content areas. At the middle school and high school level, ELL students have a set class period of forty minutes where they attend ELL class. The primary focus for grades 6-12 is not only to provide skills needed to learn the various content areas, but it also provides support for students taking state tests such as the HSPA and GEPA. At this level, instruction primarily lies in reading, writing, grammar and vocabulary.

Materials Used All grade levels use an ELL based textbook series. K-5 uses the Scott Foresman textbook series. Grades 6-8 uses Shining Star and Keys to Learning, Grades 9-12 uses Visions.

More Materials Along with the textbook series come lots of additional materials to enhance student learning. These are: –Audiotapes and videotapes –Big books –“Let’s Talk” picture cards –Posters –Workbooks Besides the textbook, the ELL program also incorporates additional materials as a supplement to the textbook series. These include: –Literature –Hands-on activities –Games –Technology

How can parents help support their children?

The single most effective thing a student can do at home is to READ regularly. It will develop his/her general ability to understand what he/she reads. It will increase his/her vocabulary. It will provide models of grammar and sentence structure that will help their own writing.

Listening Skills Borrow audio cassettes and video cassettes from the school and libraries.

Speaking Skills Give a summary of the main events in the stories he/she has read or heard. State some of the important information she has learned from non- fiction sources.

As for grammar and vocabulary these are best learned in the contexts of reading or listening. There are many grammar and vocabulary practice books available.

You may wish to help more directly with assignments in other subjects, such as science, history, math etc. It would be helpful to have good reference materials in your own language. Your child can consult these to increase general understanding of the topic. It would also help very much if you could discuss with what has been read, again in your own language. This will deepen your child’s background knowledge and prepare him/her to understand the difficult English he/she will hear and read in school.

Exiting the Program

Three major identification criteria for exiting students from the ELL program are: The student will show proficiency in English speaking, listening, reading, and writing at a level commensurate with his / her grade and / or age. The student is working at grade level in all content areas. Teacher observations and recommendations reveal that the student is ready to exit the program. A different test than was used for entrance into the program will be used to assess the readiness of the student to exit the program.

After a student is exited from the ELL program, he/she will be monitored for a time to ensure the student is able to be without ELL services. ELL teachers will communicate with classroom / content area teachers to monitor students' progress throughout this period.

ACCESS TESTING All Students also take a state test called the ACCESS Test. This test is given to show their improvement from year to year. This test checks their listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in English. If your child was in ELL classes in Sayreville last year, we have their results for you to view. Please ask any questions you may have about them to their child’s teacher at the end.

Thank you so much for coming tonight! We will now take any questions you may have. Please feel free to meet with your child’s ELL teacher. Also, please take some time to review the various books that we have set up for your viewing.