Provide Equal Educational Opportunities for All Limited English Proficient (LEP) Students

Program Goals

-Enable limited English proficient (LEP) students to communicate and function in the English language and American culture

-Provide equal educational opportunities for all limited English proficient (LEP) students

-Develop a Program Services Plan for each LEP student to address linguistic and academic needs

-Promote parental and community participation in programs for LEP students and families

-Provide comprehensible instruction in content-area classes to successfully meet Common Core State Standards

-Build district and school capacity to continue to offer high-quality language instruction program with highly qualified personnel

Program Model

LEP students receive a variety of services based on their individual needs. These services include, but are not limited to, pull-out/plug –in programming, individual instruction, sheltered English instruction, small group instruction and before and/or after school tutoring. This instruction may have native language support.

Assessment

Each student with a home/primary language other than English is assessed to determine speaking, listening, writing and reading proficiency in the English language. Parents will be notified within 30 days requesting approval for placement. Students will be placed in classroom settings that provide the best possible opportunities for them to continue to learn content material while they are acquiring English skills. LEP students are entitled to participate in district programs such as Gifted and Talented, Special Education and other support programs in a non-discriminatory manner.

An LEP student will be exited from the ESL program when it is determined that the student has achieved sufficient proficiency in reading, writing, speaking and comprehending the English language to participate successfully in the regular education program without ESL accommodations. The ACCESS test will be administered each winter and an exiting score of 5 overall will be considered as well as teacher input and other factors. After exiting, students will be on a monitoring status for 2 years to ensure success.

Students should be held to the same high expectations outlined in the Common Core State Standards. LEP students may require additional time, appropriate instructional support, and aligned assessments as they acquire both English language proficiency and content area knowledge.

Parent Communication

Interpreters or translators may need to be provided for LEP parents for school activities such as registering students and parent/teacher conferences. Establishing a good communication between home and school is important for successful student learning.