English Learner Services
Program Overview
Our goal for our English Learners is to become independent in a school environment that also affirms linguistic and cultural diversity. We strive to acclimate these students to their new culture while maintaining the pride they have for their own. Circle of Season’s assists these students in school and in their community by helping them use the English language in socially and culturally appropriate ways. Our objective is to ultimately help these students gain proficiency with the English language. We focus on enhancing academic speaking, listening ability, and developing both reading comprehension and vocabulary skills.
At registration, every student who enters Circle of Seasons Charter School is given a home language survey to determine the student’s primary home language. If a language other than English is noted, then the student is evaluated further.
Evaluations are administered to see If a student is not yet proficient in English, and if not proficient he/she receives support services from the English as a Second Language (ESL) Program.
Students are monitored throughout the year to confirm the appropriateness of their placement.
Initial Screening/Evaluation
All incoming students whose home language is that other than English (as per the Home Language Survey) are screened. Students are given the WIDA Screener as mandated by the state to determine language proficiency; however, additional reading and writing assessments may also be required.
Level 1 – Entering: Student demonstrates very limited or no proficiency in English. This student may understand and use simple, short utterances. This student is not able to converse in English in simple social situations. This student may lack formal education and/or may have experienced interrupted schooling; therefore, the student may not have acquired the skills necessary for reading and writing in his/her native language or English.
Level 2 – Emerging: Student demonstrates limited proficiency in English. This student may use patterned expressions when he/she speaks. This student can participate in simple conversations and respond to routine classroom procedures. This student has acquired some skills necessary for reading and writing, but has not yet acquired a level of English sufficient to read and write fluently.
Level 3 – Developing: Student demonstrates some proficiency in English. This student may understand and use basic sentence patterns when he/she speaks. This student can converse in social situations with some repetition and hesitation and may begin to demonstrate the ability to participate in class discussions of limited content area topics. This student may read and write, but is confused by complex structures and technical language. This student cannot meet passing requirements independently in the mainstream classroom.
Level 4 – Expanding: Student demonstrates English proficiency in social situations and some proficiency in classroom situations. This student can understand and use complex sentence structure in conversation, but demonstrates some difficulty with content area topics. This student may read and write, but needs assistance with content area class work in the classroom.
English Language Acquisition for Grades K-5
English Language instruction at the elementary level can include both pull-out and push-in services. The EL teacher schedules sessions for groups of students that typically meet between two (2) and five (5) sessions per week. These groups of students may be pulled out of their classrooms in order to receive more intensive and explicit direct instruction in English acquisition. The EL teacher can also push into the classroom(s) to support instruction. The amount of daily instructional support an English Learner (EL) receives depends on his/her level of English language development & proficiency.
The EL teacher provides ongoing instruction to assist ELs in their English language acquisition. Instruction includes language development that supports both social and instructional purposes, along with explicit language instruction focused on the grade level content specific areas of Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Studies, and Science. The EL program used at COS is as follows: Continental Team: Teaching ELLs for Academic Language Mastery.
English Language Acquisition for Grades 6-8
EL’s at the middle school level receive traditional instruction in ELA, mathematics, science, and social studies, and specialist classes with their English-speaking peers. However, EL students can also receive in class and/or out-of-class support based on their individual language needs.
