Parent Information
How to get involved
• Ensure that your child goes to school every day, ready to learn.
• Ensure that your child reads and completes his or her homework assignments daily.
• Attend all parent-teacher conferences and annual ELL parent meetings.
• Help your child obtain a public library card and visit the library frequently.
• Attend parent workshops and conferences that are specially designed to assist you in helping your child.
• Serve as a parent volunteer in your child’s school.
• Create a supportive home environment for learning and studying.
• Read with your child in your native language every day and encourage him or her to read daily.
• Attend school activities such as field trips, assemblies, Parent- Teacher Association, Parent Association, and Community Education Council meetings.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an English Language Learner?
An English Language Learner, or ELL, is a student whose native language is not English and needs support learning English.
How does a school determine if my child is an ELL?
All parents and guardians of newly enrolled students are required to complete a Home Language Questionnaire that lets the school staff know what language your child speaks at home. If the survey indicates your child uses a language other than English, the school will conduct an interview. The interview of the student and parent determines whether he or she or she will be given the New York State Identification Test for English Language Learners. This test measures your child’s knowledge of English and determines if he or she needs support programs and services. If the test shows that your child needs support learning English, he or she is identified as an English Language Learner.
What kinds of programs and services are available to my child? The Elwood Public Schools provide the English as a New Language program (ENL), composed of Integrated English as a New Language services as well as Stand Alone services..
What are the differences between these services?
English as a New Language programs, which used to be called English as a Second Language or ESL, provide instruction in English so that they can learn to read, write, and speak English. Students in this program can come from many different language backgrounds, and English may be the only common language among them.
- Stand-alone: Students are taught in small groups by their ENL teacher to target their specific needs as ENL students.
- Integrated: ENL teachers Co-teach and support student's classroom teacher in English Language Arts / Core content areas
What are the benefits of these programs?
There are many benefits to English Language Learner programs:
• Students learn to appreciate different cultures.
• Students who speak two or more languages are valuable to future employers and have an easier time finding jobs.
How will I know how well my child is performing in a program? Harley Avenue Primary will hold parent-teacher conferences and annual ELL parent meetings to let you know how your child is performing in school. In addition, each spring your child will be given the New York State English as a Second Language Achievement Test. This test measures your child’s progress in learning English. It is given to all English Language Learners enrolled in grades K-12 in New York State schools. The results allow students, teachers, and parents to understand each student’s strengths and areas that need improvement, such as speaking, reading, and writing. The results of this test are also used to determine if your child will continue to be identified as an English Language Learner in the next school year.