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English Learners
Program Description
Students Learning the English Language will:
Program Participation
The English Learners program is designed to meet the educational needs of students learning English. (Read more)
Program Delivery
The Spring Lake Park English Learners Program will provide services to identified students in grades K-12 to assist them in achieving the overall goals of the English Learner program. The Minnesota English Language Proficiency Standards will provide the foundation for English language acquisition and the academic development of identified English Learner students in the district. (Read more)
Staffing Responsibilities of Personnel
The staffing for Spring Lake Park Schools EL Program will include nine Minnesota certified EL teachers who will be responsible for the overall implementation of the EL program. These staff members will be supervised by building and district level administrators, with specific responsibility for everseeing the EL Program placed with the EL Coordinator for the school district. (Read more)
Professional Development
Even though the EL teacher will provide direct instruction for many of the identified EL students in the district, much of the responsibility for EL student instruction will fall to the regular classroom teacher. (Read more)
Communication with Parents
State and federal regulations require districts to provide information about assessment and related academic achievement to parents of EL students in a language that they can understand. As required by Title III, when a student is identified as an EL student, the parent will be notified in writing of the EL status of their student. (Read more)
Assessment of English Language Proficiency:
The student should also have passing grades in all four major content areas. (A student may also be removed from the EL program at the request of the parent.) Even though a student may be eligible for removal from any EL support, the student will be indirectly serviced as far as academic progress for two years following their exiting the program, and EL accommodations can be requested by the EL teacher or parent at any time if needed.
If the student has an IEP:
The decision of an IEP team, with an EL Teacher included, may override the above criteria. This decision must be documented and provide evidence that exiting from the EL program is in the child’s best interest. EL students are indirectly serviced for 2 years after meeting exit criteria. These are considered transitional years to ensure grade level success. If indications arise that the EL student is unsuccessful, then support services are again offered, based on student needs. Services could be limited to a specific content area, or the student could be offered EL Program services again, if necessary.
Program Monitoring and Evaluation
The state of Minnesota implements a TEAE- test that evaluates the language development of EL students annually. This test is a measure for a state cut-off level for funding of an EL student's services. It will also measure an EL student's yearly progress and provide another tool for evaluating the effectiveness of a school's EL program. (Read more)
Special Education and EL
Spring Lake Park Public Schools does not place any student in a special education program based on his/her English proficiency. The guidelines for special education are the same for both EL and non-EL students in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Act.
EL students identified as special education students may continue to receive EL services as determined by the students IEP. EL instruction would be provided by the EL teacher or EL accommodations would be made in the regular classroom by the regular classroom teacher. Special education services would be provided by appropriately qualified special education teachers.
Special Programs and Related Services
EL students will receive equal access to all district special opportunity programs. These programs include but are not limited to Title I and 3, at risk programming, literacy coaches, speech and other forms of special education, vocational and technical courses, gifted and talented instruction, and all extracurricular and non-academic activities available to other students. The district assures that the selection or application process for special opportunity programs will not rely solely on measures of English language proficiency.
No Child Left Behind
In establishing the program of instruction to be implemented, each district should take its individual circumstances into account. The fundamental Title III requirement for EL students is that they have meaningful access to the district’s educational program.
Therefore the goals for success for EL students should relate to the goals maintained for students throughout the district. Under Federal Law, programs to educate children with limited proficiency in English must be:
The laws, court decisions, and educational policies of the U.S. federal government, and the Minnesota State government guarantee the following basic rights to EL students:
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