English as a Second Language (ESL)
ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS AS DEFINED BY PA DEPT OF ED
An English Language Learner is defined as any student whose dominant language is not English. The education of students whose dominant language is not English is the responsibility of every Local Education Agency (LEA).
PDE's Informational Website on English Language Learners
Northeast Bradford Area School District’s K-12 English as a Second Language (ESL) Program provides English Learners instruction in the areas of Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing in English by certified ESL teachers.
Generally, this instruction is delivered to students by way of small groups and/or pull-out instruction. Students are grouped with students of similar age, grade, and language proficiency level. They are provided with instruction in alignment with recommended hours from the Pennsylvania Basic Education Circular for Educating English Learners (ELs). The instruction is aligned to PA Core Standards and PA English Language Development (ELD) Standards.
Students are assessed annually with the World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) ACCESS test for ELs to monitor growth in language proficiency and to determine the continued need for support with English language development. The amount and duration of ESL pull-out instruction may decrease as the student’s language proficiency increases. Students have the opportunity to exit the ESL program annually and the Pennsylvania Department of Education requirements for exit are followed.
Each child’s ESL teacher collaborates with his/her classroom and content area teachers to monitor progress in the general education curriculum. Information, strategies, and resources are regularly shared to assure that the child’s language needs are met.
Parents are informed of the child’s progress in English language development through both grades on the school district report card, as well as the ESL supplemental report card that reports the student’s progress in the four domains of language.
Once a child is no longer in need of support with language development and they exit the ESL program, their progress is monitored for a period of 2 years.