English as a Second Language Program Evaluation - Guilderland ...

C - A description of the nature and scope of the English as a second language and/or bilingual instructional program and services available to LEP
students –
Please note that the number of students enrolled in ESL on any given year determines the actual number of classes. Fully certified and
experienced ESL teachers teach the classes, which are both push-in and pull-out. The program is based on a free-standing sheltered English model.
The program is managed by the 12 month ESL Administrator. The ESL Administrator holds NYS permanent certification as a District-wide
Administrator. The Administrator frequently attends professional development in order to stay informed of regulations, teaching practices and
other issues throughout the year. The ESL Administrator is kept informed of all issues regarding the students, families, the program, placement, and
the teachers. The Supervisor gives new teachers to the district training on how to work with the ESL teachers. They also learn about the role of the
ESL teacher as well as their roles in helping students to develop English skills. The ESL Administrator frequently meets with students and parents to
help in the explanation of services or to help welcome new entrants to our school. The Administrator also closely supervises the testing of all ESL
students.
Families of new ELL students are given tours of the building during which time the ESL teacher will explain the specific protocols of the
school to them. Important items such as start/ending times, lunches, after-school time and transportation are clearly explained to them by the ESL
teacher. Translators are used as required. If the new entrants arrive during the summer, a Title 3 funded K-8 summer program is available for the
students. In this program students have a chance to begin the socialization process and to begin on working on their English skills in a low stress
environment. Usually the instruction is designed around a topic from the students’ core classes and then is developed by the ESL teacher. This gives
the students an overview for the upcoming year.
Parents are kept informed through the formal channels of report cards, open house meetings, conferences, and the district-wide web site
and the big EXTRAVAGANZA in June of each year. The yearly EXTRAVAGANZA is a teacher organized event in which ALL the families of the ESL
population are invited. A banquet is held, along with an awards ceremony. Also, student work is shared and some students perform.
Teachers make frequent calls home to inform the parents of academic and social success as well as to explain any of the school-wide
events, which might be new to them. Translators as well as translated documents (report cards, letters home etc.) are used freely, on an individual
needs basis. Meetings with parents include the use of translators as needed. The ESL Administrator maintains a current list of people who are
available for translating.
The ESL Administrator provides staff development to all new teachers during a district-wide staff development session in the summer.
Throughout the year, the Supervisor provides workshops to the regular staff in terms of helping them to understand the ESL learner and how they
are expected to help them and in which ways. The Supervisor also helps, especially at the middle and high school levels, with the assessment piece
for the regular classroom teachers and has set up a (temporary) Pass/Fail system (at the middle school) as a safety net for our very beginning
learners in the core subjects, until they progress to such a point that they can be assimilated more fully into the assessment practices. This is always
explained to the parents and is for a short period of time. ESL teachers also give presentations at staff meetings to update teachers on regulations,
accommodations, and practices. In addition, there are ESL focus groups and collegial inquiry groups around ESL topics and address ways in which
to best help all learners.
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