St. Cloud Area Schools District #742

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1 St. Cloud Area School District 742 Learning for a lifetime. It's our promise to you. Dr. Patty Popp Executive Director Student Services/Special Education Natalie Prasch Supervisor English Learner Programs District Administration Office th Avenue North, Suite 100 St. Cloud, MN P: F: patty.popp@isd742.org English Learner Written Plan of Service St. Cloud Area Schools District #742 The English Learner program in the St. Cloud Area Schools supports students in grades K 12 in acquiring the English necessary to be successful in our classrooms. The school district follows the State of Minnesota Guidelines and serves a continually growing population. The current population includes immigrant, refugee, migrant and native born students whose first language is not English. English Learner certified teachers and paraprofessional staff are appropriately licensed and trained to work with our EL population (MN Statute 124D.61 General Requirements for Programs). Instruction in speaking, listening, reading and writing is provided by licensed EL teachers with support from paraprofessional staff. English Learner Identification St. Cloud Area Schools utilizes a Home Language Questionnaire (HLQ) which is required of each student being registered into the district. The four questions included in the HLQ are: language student first learned to speak, language student normally uses at home, language parent most frequently uses to speak with child and language student normally uses with friends. If a language other than English is indicated for any of the four areas, English assessment is required and is completed at the district Welcome Center by an EL licensed instructor who is trained in the assessment of English Learners. Other information gathered on enrollment forms includes date of enrollment in US schools, date of enrollment in Minnesota schools and indications of special education services, if they are required. The LAS is the current method of assessment for students in grades 1 12, with the pre LAS being used for students entering kindergarten. The LAS is administered by a licensed EL teacher with specific instruction in test administration and scoring. On going annual assessment training is held for all EL teachers to ensure reliability of test administration and scoring. When a student is proficient in all domains, no services are indicated. The district places the assessment in the student s cumulative folder and maintains the data in a district database (information is kept for six years beyond the student s graduation). When a student is not proficient in all domains, services are needed and the student is placed in the English Learner program. This information is sent on to the district (district office and computer services) for appropriate LEP classification in MARSS (see attached EL student flowchart). Clear Lake Clearwater Collegeville Luxemburg Pleasant Lake St. Augusta St. Cloud St. Joseph Waite Park Excellence Learning Leadership Partnership Respect

2 Students scoring at the lowest level in all four domains are placed in the district Jumpstart program. This program is designed to meet the needs of students who are new to country, with little English skill, or students who are new to English. This program is an intensive English acquisition experience for the student. The teaching of literacy skills, acculturation, the building of academic vocabulary and learning about school life and community are the main focus points of the Jumpstart program. Annual Assessment As required by law, all students labeled as LEP in MARSS are assessed annually. The assessment is conducted with the assistance of various district personnel including counselors and classroom teachers. EL teachers are the main test administrators, with others helping support the testing process by monitoring student progress. Anyone helping with the test administration is required to pass the WIDA training in group administration each year. The speaking portion of the assessment is administered by a licensed EL teacher only. All licensed EL teachers are required to complete the WIDA training each year in group administration, scoring of the speaking section and the kindergarten administration section if testing kindergarten students. The training for the Alternate ACCESS for ELLs is required for those administering the alternate assessment. Once the district has received the test scores, parents are notified of those scores and of their student s need to continue in or exit the EL program. Parent Notification Parents are notified of student placement in EL programming within 10 days of their enrollment in the school district. Explanations of the programs are given to families at the Welcome Center and at the school of enrollment. Parent notification letters are sent in Somali, Spanish, Lao, Vietnamese, Russian and Hmong. Translation is provided, if necessary, for families. All written communication also includes district phone numbers that families can access when questions arise, information is needed or if translation services are required. The notification letter includes student scores from preliminary testing, program descriptions, an invitation to visit the school, graduation rates of EL students and a notice of rights to waive services. Families also receive notice annually of current ACCESS for ELLs assessment scores. (See attached Parent Notification Letter.) Services English Learner services support EL students in the domains of listening, speaking, reading and writing. Following the WIDA standards, English Learner courses focus on social and instructional language, the language of language arts, the language of mathematics, the language of science and the language of social studies. Services for ELs vary depending upon the student level of English acquisition, the grade level and the data gathered by both EL and mainstream teachers regarding the student. All students are given content based EL instruction which is designed to promote English proficiency and the growth of academic vocabulary (Dutro and Levy, 2011). Students are age appropriately placed with their peers and instruction is aligned to the WIDA and Common Core State Standards at the current grade level. At all grade levels students are provided instruction in

3 developing listening, speaking, reading and writing while teachers utilize research based, bestpractice strategies. Elementary Programs Elementary students are offered services in a variety of ways. EL teachers, paraprofessional staff, classroom staff and specialist staff (music, art, media and physical education) all provide instruction to EL students. Classroom and specialist staff accommodate for the needs of the students as necessary. EL staff provides instruction in pull out as well as push in settings. The focus of pull out instruction is on the building of academic vocabulary and literacy skills. The goal is to move students from the Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS) to the Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP) necessary to be successful in mainstream classes (Cummins, 1979). The pull out courses allow for more one on one instruction and small group work to build needed skills. The push in courses allow students to stay with their grade peers and access the curriculum with the support and scaffolds they need to be successful. EL and general education staff collaborates on a daily basis to make sure EL students language and content needs are being met (Echevarria, Vogt and Short, 2009). Secondary Programs Secondary students are offered service in a variety of formats. EL, core content and elective teachers all provide instruction to EL students. There are also paraprofessional staff who help provide instruction to EL students. The programming for students is based on their current English acquisition level, their current grade level and their credit needs. Students who require more support in acquiring academic English are offered that support in sheltered English courses taught by a licensed EL teacher (Peregoy and Boyle, 2013). Students may also qualify for courses in the content areas, which are staffed by a content area teacher and an EL teacher. These courses ensure students are receiving the content area standards while acquiring the English skills necessary to be successful in these content areas (Echevarria, Vogt and Short, 2009). Jumpstart Program Jumpstart is a kindergarten through twelfth grade program for students who are new to country or new to English. In order to enter this program, students are tested using the LAS exam and the Pre LAS for kindergarten students. Students receiving a score of one on all four sections of the LAS (reading, writing, listening and speaking) exam are qualified to be in the Jumpstart program. Kindergarten students scoring a one in the speaking and pre literacy portions of the Pre LAS are also eligible for Jumpstart. We currently have seven Jumpstart sites. Elementary students who qualify and would attend Discovery, Kennedy, Madison or Westwood are enrolled in Jumpstart at Discovery. Elementary students who would attend Talahi, Lincoln or Clearview are enrolled in Jumpstart at Talahi. Oak Hill students are enrolled in Jumpstart at Oak Hill. All Junior High School Jumpstart students are enrolled at North and South Junior High Schools depending on their area of attendance. Senior High School Jumpstart students are enrolled at Apollo High School and Technical High School

4 depending on their attendance zone. These various locations allow us to serve students on both the north and south sides of our community. Busing is also available at no cost to all students who qualify to be in the Jumpstart program. Jumpstart services are provided over a 1 2 academic year time frame. Some students may need more or less time in the program depending upon their progress. Students coming with first language literacy often will spend one academic year in Jumpstart. Students arriving with few or no literacy skills in their first language often require more time in the Jumpstart program (Peregoy and Boyle, 2013). Determination of the length of Jumpstart programming is based on student progress, teacher recommendation and a review of data gathered throughout the academic year. Students exiting the Jumpstart program must meet district set guidelines which are designed to ensure students will be successful in the mainstream classroom with English Learner support. Depending on the grade level and English proficiency level, students may spend 50% 70% of their day in the Jumpstart program. The design of the Jumpstart course allows beginning EL students to practice using English in a low stress environment, thus lowering the affective filter (Krashen, 1981). In order to help our students acclimate to a new culture and form of education, each Jumpstart building has Cultural Navigators who speak the majority languages of our EL population (Somali and Spanish). The district has interpreters for the many other languages spoken in the school community. The Jumpstart program also includes bilingual paraprofessional staff that assists the EL teacher with academic tasks. This paraprofessional staff helps communicate new concepts to students in their native language. In addition, Jumpstart paraprofessionals help students transition into the new school culture; also, paraprofessionals work with students in the academic setting and help teachers with parent contact when needed. Elementary (K 5) 180 minutes per day Middle School (6 8) Service Minutes Based on Student Need Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 90 minutes 45 minutes per day per day 240 minutes per day High School (9 12) 240 minutes Two sheltered English classes, sheltered science or social studies, course if needed Two sheltered English Two sheltered English classes, sheltered science or social studies, course if needed Two sheltered English 30 minutes at least once per week Support as needed (EL,, specific skill building, etc.) Support as needed (EL, Indirect consultative services Indirect consultative services Indirect consultative

5 per day classes, sheltered science or social studies, courses if needed classes, sheltered science or social studies, courses if needed, specific skill building etc.) services ACCESS Level Level 1 Level 2 6 th Grade Level 3 4 (up to 2 classes) 7 th Grade Level 3 4 (up to 2 classes) 8 th Grade Level 3 4 (up to 2 classes) 6, 7, & 8 Level 5 Enhanced Secondary Plan Grades 6 8 for Language Reading EL 1 Language Arts EL 2 Language Arts English 6 English 7 English 8 EL EL 6 Cotaught 7 8 EL EL 6 taught Cotaught 7 Cotaught 8 Cotaught Mainstream courses with consultative status /Other

6 Key Mainstream with EL Consultation Direct EL Instruction Content & EL Teacher Enhanced Secondary Plan Grades 9 12 for ACCESS Level 1 2 Language Arts Reading EL 1 Language Arts EL 2 Language Arts 3 ELA 4 ELA EL 1 EL 2 EL EL /Other EL Support EL Support 5 Mainstream courses with consultative status Key Mainstream with EL Consultation Direct EL Instruction Content & EL Teacher EL Teacher Exiting the English Learner Program A variety of data is used to determine if students are ready to exit the English Learner program. An overall ACCESS score of 5.0, including 4.6 in each domain is one of the criteria used to determine if students are ready to exit. The district also uses MAP, MCA, GRAD, Rigby Benchmarking and teacher recommendation to determine when students are ready to exit the EL program. Below is a chart of the exit information. (See attached exit forms for elementary and secondary programs.)

7 Elementary Exit Criteria Two of the following criteria must be met, one being the ACCESS for ELLs score. Test Component Proficiency Criteria Prerequisite: Overall Proficiency is 5.0 or above ACCESS for ELLs MCA Speaking Proficiency Listening Proficiency Reading Proficiency Writing Proficiency Overall Proficiency Reading 5.0 or above Approaching Proficiency X40 X49 where X is the grade level Rigby Reading Level Within a grade level MAP Reading Refer to RIT value norms chart for each grade level Secondary Exit Criteria Two of the following criteria must be met, one being the ACCESS for ELLs score. Test Component Proficiency Criteria Prerequisite: Overall Proficiency is 5.0 or above ACCESS for ELLs MCA GRAD MAP Speaking Proficiency Listening Proficiency Reading Proficiency Writing Proficiency Overall Proficiency Reading Reading Writing Reading 5.0 or above Approaching Proficiency X40 X49 where X is the grade level 45 or above (50 is proficient) Writing Score of 3.0 or above Refer to RIT value norms chart for each grade level EL EXIT PROCEDURE GUIDE Exiting of students will take place when the district receives testing results. The exit process includes a reclassification in MARSS. Exited students will no longer have the classification of LEP.

8 Exit Procedure To identify students who qualify for exiting the EL program, the EL teacher, in collaboration with the student s mainstream teachers, will: 1. Review the test scores and student performance in the class. 2. If qualifications are met, complete the EL Exit Form. 3. Communicate with parents regarding this change. Send a copy of the EL Exit form and Notification form to parents/guardians. 4. Send the EL Exit form to Susan DAO (for change in status in MARSS). Exit date will be entered into Skyward(Computer Services). 5. File the EL Exit form and Notification form in the CUM folder. English Learner Teaching Staff The English Learner teaching staff is highly trained and current on Minnesota licensing standards. Some EL teachers also hold licenses in areas such as reading, elementary education, language arts and social studies. Ongoing professional development is required for all teachers and is provided through the school district. Teachers have the opportunity to attend professional development outside of the district as well. EL teachers participate in the annual TESOL conference. Bilingual Paraprofessional Staff The paraprofessional staff working with our English Learner population is all highly qualified as required by the state of Minnesota. Ongoing training opportunities are provided for paraprofessional staff within the district. There are also opportunities for paraprofessional staff to attend training outside of the district. Many paraprofessional staff has taken the opportunity to access training in a variety of delivery methods.