Acton Public Schools
English As a Second Language Program
Four of our five elementary schools offer ELL services to English Language Learners. APS schools serving ELL students include Conant, Douglas, Merriam and McCarthy-Towne. Classroom teachers and our ELL teacher meet the needs of our students through programming that is designed. These two providers work together to design specific curriculum using materials from the ELL program and the regular education setting.
Student needs are met daily within each student's classroom and during ELL weekly sessions. Specific programming taught in the ELL program include conversational skills, vocabulary development, skills/concepts from regular education curriculum, information about life in the United States and other specifically curriculum designed to target gaps in the students' educations.
The ELL teacher tests all ELL students yearly to assess students' listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. From there, the teacher places students into compatible groups for instruction. The ELL teacher regularly meets with the classroom teacher to discuss upcoming curriculum subjects so that the students will be provided with the skill sets they need to achieve success. The reading specialists also serve ELL students as soon as students have learned enough English to begin the reading/writing process. These services, along with ELL support, serve to hasten the students' assimilation into the school setting.
Acton-Boxborough Regional High School
English Language Learners Programs: Overview
The ELL Program (formerly known as ESL) within the Acton-Boxborough Regional School District, is an instructional program based on federal and state guidelines for low incidence language minority populations.
ELL instructors do not teach content subjects, rather they focus on helping the students develop proficiency in the areas of understanding, speaking, reading and writing in English, while offering cultural and emotional support. Beginning ELL students work on English comprehension, both receptive and expressive. When developmentally appropriate, they proceed with reading and writing in English. The focus for intermediate and advanced students is to improve language skills in English, which include further development of vocabulary usage, and writing.
By identifying students whose primary language is other than English and by providing English language support, Acton-Boxborough Regional Schools help ELL students gain equal access to the American Educational System as mandated by the federal No Child Left Behind Law.
In addition to this federal mandate, the Massachusetts Department of Education has established guidelines to further ensure that these students have equal access to educational opportunities as their English speaking peers. (State Law, Section 3 101)
ELL services are provided within the Academic Support Center programs at the senior and junior high school. The program provides age appropriate materials for language learning, cultural awareness, learning strategies and specific content areas. As students develop more advanced language skills, they are better able to access the mainstream academic curriculum. Students are evaluated annually to assess their progress. At the high school, a daily language class is taught by trained ELL staff.
The profile of the ELL student changes annually. ELL specialists consult with faculty, staff and parents to ease the transition and provide a specialized learning environment. The district has provided services to students whose first languages include: Cantonese, Mandarin, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Urdu.
Federal and State Mandates for English Language Learners (ELL)
Federal Law: NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT (2001)
- A federal law with the goal of ensuring that every student in the nation receives equal education opportunities and access. Its primary purpose is to close the achievement gap between disadvantaged and minority students and their peers.
State Guidelines (Section 3102): Massachusetts' Initiative
Some of the guidelines are the following:
- To help ensure that children who are limited English proficient, including immigrant children and youth, attain English proficiency, develop high levels of academic attainment in English, and meet the same challenging State academic content and student academic achievement standards as all children are expected to meet;
- To assist all limited English proficient children, including immigrant children and youth, to achieve at high levels in the core academic subjects so that those children can meet the same challenging State academic content and student academic achievement standards as all children are expected to meet, consistent with section 1 11(b)(1);
- To promote parental and community participation in language instruction educational programs for the parents and communities of limited English proficient children;
- To hold State educational agencies, local educational agencies, and schools accountable for increases in English proficiency and core academic content knowledge of limited English proficient children by requiring (a) demonstrated improvements in the English proficiency of limited English proficient children each fiscal year, and (b) adequate yearly progress for limited English proficient children, including immigrant children and youth as described in section 1 l 1(b)(2)(B).
Formal Assessments
As required by the State of Massachusetts Department of Education, the ELL student is formally assessed annually using two standardized tests, namely the MEPA and the MELA-O. The tests are designed to assess the student's fluency in speaking, proficiency in writing, reading ability and listening comprehension. ELL instructors have been trained at the junior high and high school in administering these tests. The following information briefly describe each assessment:
Massachusetts English Proficiency Assessment (MEPA)
The MEPA is an annual assessment administered by designated instructors. It measures reading comprehension and written expression. The students are divided into groups based on their level of proficiency. For beginners, the assessment is largely based on visual stimuli, basic questions and basic writing prompts. The more advanced students read longer passages, answer questions, edit a passage and respond to writing prompts.
Massachusetts English Language Assessment - Oral (MELA-O)
The MELA-O is a classroom assessment instrument developed by the Department of Education in collaboration with the Center for Applied Linguistics at George Washington University. Classroom teachers use the MELA-O to evaluate a students' speaking and listening skills in English. Speaking skills are evaluated according to grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary and fluency. Listening skills are evaluated assessing the student's comprehension ability.
In addition to these language assessments, ELL students are also required to take MCAS.