CHAPTER 2: English Language Development - Program Options

CHAPTER 2: English Language Development - Program Options

 

Placentia Yorba Linda Unified School District is committed to educating all Multilingual learners to ensure both English language development and academic success. Our primary goal is to provide students with the 21st Century skills to succeed in their choice of college and career. The English Learner Roadmap  guiding principle for this chapter is:

✔ Guiding Principle 2	English learners engage in intellectually rich, developmentally appropriate learning experiences that foster high levels of English proficiency.
Intellectual Quality of Instruction and Meaningful Access

 

This chapter describes the different English language development programs that Placentia Yorba Linda Unified has to offer to our English learners.

 

PYLUSD will be using the terms English learners and Multilingual learners strategically going forward: English Learner (EL) will be used when referring to obligations of Title III, and Multilingual learner will be used when referring to the asset-based approach the district takes for language learners. PYLUSD embraces the position that the multilingual learner designation provides recognition of students’ home languages as assets to their education while acknowledging that learning English is one particular aspect of their education.

1. Language Acquisition Theory

Placentia Yorba Linda  Unified School District’s instructional framework for supporting Multilingual learners is based on the CA EL Roadmap Principles and the English Language Arts/English Language Development Framework. Our system provides appropriate classroom Universal, Additional, and Intensified Supports extending beyond the classroom. PYLUSD believes in shared responsibility for the success of Multilingual learners across the district. To realize the full academic and social potential of our Multilingual learners, the following best practices will be implemented:

 

Best Practices for English Learners & Universal Supports
# 1 Asset-Based Approach	#2 Daily Designated ELD	#3 Integrated ELD	#4 Individualizng for the Whole Child
Recognize, Value, and Respond to ALL Learners	Develop Academic Language Proficiency	Integrate Language Development in All Content Areas	Monitor language and academic progress to refine instruction
Placentia Yorba Linda Unified School District

We recognize that language learning occurs in a continuum and Multilingual learners require differentiated levels of support. 

Performance Level Descriptors (PLDs) for the Initial English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC) and Levels of Support

Initial Fluent English Proficient (IFEP)	Students at this level have well-developed oral (listening and speaking) and written (reading and writing) skills. They can use English to learn and communicate in meaningful ways that are appropriate to different tasks, purposes, and audiences in a variety of social and academic contexts.They may need light support to communicate on less familiar tasks and topics. This test performance level corresponds to the upper range of the “Bridging” proficiency level as described in the 2012 California English Language Development Standards, Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve (2012 ELD Standards).
Intermediate English Learner	Students at this level have somewhat developed to moderately developed oral (listening and speaking) and written (reading and writing) skills. This level captures a broad range of English learners, from those who can use English only to meet immediate communication needs to those who can, at times, use English to learn and communicate in meaningful ways in a range of topics and content areas.They may need substantial-to-moderate support to communicate on less familiar tasks and topics. This test performance level corresponds to the entire “Expanding” proficiency level and to the lower range of the “Bridging” proficiency level as described in the 2012 ELD Standards.
Novice English Learner	Students at this level have minimally developed oral (listening and speaking) and written (reading and writing) English skills. They tend to rely on learned words and phrases to communicate meaning at a basic level. They need substantial-to-moderate linguistic support to communicate in familiar social and academic contexts; they need substantial linguistic support to communicate on less familiar tasks and topics. This test performance level corresponds to the “Emerging” proficiency level as described in the 2012 ELD Standards.

Performance Level Descriptors (PLDs) for the Summative English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC) and Levels of Support
	Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Level 4
ELPAC Performance Level	English learners at this level have minimally developed oral (listening and speaking) and written (reading and writing) English skills. They tend to rely on learned words and phrases to communicate meaning at a basic level.	English learners at this level have somewhat developed oral (listening and speaking) and written (reading and writing) skills. They can use English to meet immediate communication needs but often are not able to use English to learn and communicate on topics and content areas.	English learners at this level have moderately developed oral (listening and speaking) and written (reading and writing) skills. They can sometimes use English to learn and communicate in meaningful ways in a range of topics and content areas.	English learners at this level have well-developed oral (listening and speaking) and written (reading and writing) skills. They can use English to learn and communicate in meaningful ways that are appropriate to different tasks, purposes, and audiences in a variety of social and academic contexts.
Levels of Support	They need substantial-to-moderate linguistic support to communicate in familiar social and academic contexts; they need substantial linguistic support to communicate on less familiar tasks and topics.	They need moderate-to-light linguistic support to engage in familiar social and academic contexts; they need substantial-to-moderate support to communicate on less familiar tasks and topics	They need light-to-minimal linguistic support to engage in familiar social and academic contexts; they need moderate support to communicate on less familiar tasks and topics.	They may need occasional linguistic support to engage in familiar social and academic contexts; they may need light support to communicate on less familiar tasks and topics.

 

2. English Learner Program Options

Language acquisition programs are educational programs designed to ensure English acquisition occurs as rapidly and effectively as possible and to provide instruction to English learners based on the state-adopted academic content standards, including English Language Development (ELD) standards. All students identified as English Learners are automatically placed in the Structured English Immersion (SEI) Program.

Although English learners are automatically placed into the SEI program, parents/guardians may choose a language acquisition program that best suits their child. 

Structured English Immersion (SEI) Program: A language acquisition program for English learners in which all classroom instruction is provided in English, with a curriculum designed for pupils who are learning English. At a minimum, students are offered daily Designated English Language Development (ELD) and access to grade-level academic subject matter content through Integrated ELD in order to reclassify to Fluent English Proficient. All schools are required to provide an SEI program for students. English Language Development (ELD) standards-based Designated and Integrated ELD instruction is a component of Universal Supports for all English learners under the Multi-Tiered System of Supports and incorporates the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). 

 

Students are provided Designated English Language Development (dELD), which targets each student’s language proficiency level. In elementary, Designated ELD time occurs daily, generally as an extension of the literacy block, and is directly linked to the English Language Arts (ELA) lessons. In secondary, Designated ELD is its own course. Essential components of Designated ELD include

• Purposeful placement of students by English language proficiency level.
• Explicit teaching of how English works in a meaningful context.
• Emphasis on substantial oral language practice to ensure accuracy and fluency.
• Ongoing progress monitoring of English language development.

 

Integrated ELD is embedded within and across content areas throughout the instructional day. Teachers support students at varying proficiency levels by differentiating instruction. 

Elementary

Elementary Designated ELD Matrix

All students identified as English Learners are automatically placed in the Structured English Immersion (SEI) Program described above. 

• Dual-Language Immersion Program: A classroom setting that provides language learning and academic instruction for native speakers of English and native speakers of another language, with the goal of high academic achievement, first and second language proficiency, and cross-cultural understanding [Education Code (EC) Section 306(c)(1)].   

Secondary

 

At the secondary level (Grades 6-12), English learners are assessed to determine their levels of English language proficiency and placed in ELD courses designed to develop English proficiency, grade-level academic language, and reclassify to Fluent English Proficient. Students are placed in one of the following four categories of courses:

• Class Placement in Middle School - Middle School Pathway 

• Designated ELD is instruction provided during a protected time in the regular school day for focused instruction on the state-adopted ELD standards. During Designated ELD, English learners develop critical English language skills necessary for accessing academic content in English. (5 CCR Section 11300[a]).
• Integrated ELD is instruction in which the CA ELD standards are used in tandem with the state-adopted academic content standards (Title 5 California Code of Regulations [CCR] Section 11300[c])

 

• Class Placement in High School - High School Placement Matrix

 

Opt-Out Waiver for Elementary and Secondary Students

Although schools have an obligation to serve all EL students, parents/guardians of English learners have a right to decline or opt their children out of a school’s ELD program or out of particular EL services within an ELD program. If parents/guardians opt their children out of a school’s ELD program or specific EL services, the children retain their status as English learners and are required to take the annual Summative ELPAC until they reclassify to fluent English proficiency. 

PYLUSD remains obligated to provide the student meaningful instruction (5 CCR Section 11302) until the student is reclassified, inform the parents/guardians when progress is not made, and re-offer the parent programs and services to consider at that time. Opt-out waivers must be completed annually in a meeting initiated by the parent or guardian and facilitated by the site administrator. For further information, please contact your child’s school or the Office of Educational Services at 714-985-8708

KEY Points

• Parents have the right to opt their children out of EL programs or particular EL services. This decision must be voluntary and based on a full understanding of the EL child’s rights, the range of services available to the child, and the benefits of such services to the child. 
• If a parent decides to opt his or her child out of EL programs or particular EL services, that child still retains his or her status as an EL. 
• LEAs must continue to monitor the English language proficiency (ELP) and academic progress of students who opt out of EL programs and services. If a student does not demonstrate appropriate growth in ELP or maintain appropriate academic levels, the LEA must inform the parents in a language they understand and offer EL services.

ELD_Services_Opt-Out_Form-PYL23/24 SAMPLE  PARENT LETTER

 

 

Additional Support for Long-Term English Learners (LTELs) and At Risk of Becoming English Learners (AR-LTELs)

Long-Term English Learner (LTEL): An English Learner (EL) student who meets the following criteria: In grades 6 to 12, has been enrolled in a U.S. school for six years or more, has remained at the same English language proficiency level for two or more consecutive prior years or has regressed and has yet to reclassify.

English Learner “At-Risk” of Becoming a Long-Term English Learner (AR-LTELs): An English Learner (EL) student who meets the following criteria: is enrolled in grades 3 to 12 and has been enrolled in a U.S. school for four or five years and has been at the same English language proficiency level for two or more consecutive prior years or has regressed.

English Learners who have attended San Diego Unified schools for 4 years or more and who have completed the ELD course sequence and have yet to reclassify as English language proficient receive an extra language support course. EL students are enrolled in English Language Development With Academic Language Development (ELD/ALD) classes. These classes have their own curricular resources designed to help English learners accelerate English language proficiency.

• California State Seal of Biliteracy

State Seal of Biliteracy Requirements