English Learners

ENGLISH LEARNER PROGRAM: SHELTERED ENGLISH IMMERSION
The English Learner (EL) program performs the following activities:
• Determines annually, not earlier than October 1, the number of English Learners in the schools, and classifies them according to grade level, primary language and the EL program in which they are enrolled.
• Screens all incoming students using a Home Language Survey and, based on the results of the survey, assesses students for English proficiency in reading, writing, speaking and listening using the Massachusetts uses Kindergarten W-APT, WIDA MODEL for Kindergarten, and WIDA Screener for Grades 1-12.
• Places students with limited English proficiency (LEP) in a Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) classroom that provides sheltered content instruction as well as explicit English Language Development (ELD/ESL) instruction.
• If the parent/guardian of an English Learner “opts out” of English language support programs, documents the parent/guardian’s notice and does not place the student in an ELD/ESL classroom. The student will continue to be classified as LEP and will participate in ACCESS and MCAS testing. When possible, the student will be placed in a classroom with a teacher trained in English language acquisition strategies. The school district will continue to keep the parent/guardian of a student who has “opted out” informed of the child’s progress.
• Administers ACCESS and MCAS testing annually to all English Learners
• Monitors the progress of students identified as FLEP (Formerly Limited English Proficient) for four (4) years after reclassification. The school district does not remove the designation of LEP until the student meets the state’s criteria for English Proficiency, which is based on ACCESS test results.
• Provides for waivers based on parent request under certain circumstances, assuming that the parent annually applies by visiting the student's school and providing written informed consent.
• For students under the age of 10, waivers are allowed under the following conditions: (a) the student has been placed in an English language classroom for at least thirty (30) days prior to the parent's application for a waiver; (b) documentation has been provided by school officials in no less than 250 words that the student has special and individual physical or psychological needs, separate from lack of English proficiency, that require an alternative course of education study, and such documentation has been included in the student's permanent school record; and (c) the waiver application has been signed by the Principal and the Superintendent.
• For students age 10 and older, waivers are allowed when it is the informed belief of the Principal and educators that an alternative course of educational study would be better for the student's overall educational progress and rapid acquisition of English.
• Allows students receiving waivers to be transferred to bilingual programs, including two-way bilingual programs, or "other generally recognized educational methodologies permitted by law."
• Requires schools in which twenty (20) students or more of a given grade level receive a waiver to offer bilingual or other type of language support program; in all other cases, students with waivers must be permitted to transfer to a public school in which such a program is offered.

Parents have legal standing to sue for enforcement of the laws relating to the education of LEP students, and school officials may be personally liable if they willfully and repeatedly refuse to implement the laws, or induce a parent to apply for a waiver by fraud or intentional misrepresentation.

PROGRAM TYPES AND SERVICES
Sheltered English Immersion is defined as an English language acquisition method for where curriculum and presentation are designed to develop academic content alongside English development. Books and instructional materials are in English, and all reading, writing and subject matter are taught in English. Effective sheltered instruction includes both content instruction and explicit, direct instruction in English language development (ELD/ESL) using a curriculum based on the WIDA ELD standards and instruction tailored to students’ proficiency levels.

Effective sheltered instruction generally includes the following elements and lesson plans that include:
• Current content objectives based on standards from the English Language Benchmarks for Common Core State Standards in English/Language Arts, History and Social Science, Mathematics, and Science and Technology/Engineering.
• Language Objectives that target academic English language development in order to increase access to curriculum and increase domain specific vocabulary, sentence structure, and discourse.
• Frequent opportunities for interaction and discussion between teacher and student and among students, which encourage elaborated responses by students about lesson concepts.
• Availability of supplementary materials that support the content objectives and contextual learning, such as:
- Hands-on manipulatives
- Pictures and visual images
- Multimedia materials
- Demonstrations
- Adapted text
- Graphic organizers
• Instruction that links academic concepts to students' backgrounds. English Learners bring personal and educational backgrounds and experiences to their classrooms that are different from those of students who were born and educated in the United States. New content learning is most effective when it is associated with prior knowledge.
• Instruction that emphasizes English vocabulary by combining the teaching of vocabulary and the teaching of content.
• Instruction that is designed to increase comprehensibility of spoken English by the use of speech appropriate for students' proficiency level, a clear explanation of academic tasks, and the use of supplementary materials (see above).
• Adaptation of content, including texts, assignments and assessments. Presentation of content in all modalities, including written text, must be within the students' English proficiency level. Testing and informal classroom assessments should be appropriate for the students' English proficiency levels.
• Regular classroom activities that provide opportunities for students to practice and apply new content and language knowledge in English.
• Students actively engaged in learning 90–100% of the time.
• Students integrated with Native English-speaking peers.