Program Info

ESL OFFICE: D1202H

ESL CLASSROOM: D2203

ESL Case Management Assignments for 2019-2020 per alpha:

- A-Cheq: Ms. Ouda

- Cher-Ka: Ms. Munoz

- Ke-Po: Ms. Bass

- Pr-Sp: Ms. Brandon

- Sr-Z: Ms. Ouda

This year we are offering English I and II classes for ESL students (also called ESOL I or II/ ESL Reading I or II), as well as sections of Read 180 and Practical Writing. Practical Writing is an ESL support class which will target literacy and content area support and test preparation. Homework help will also be available during this class. ESL English I and II are only available to students who have very low English proficiency and/or who have recently arrived from their home country. If you have any doubts about a student’s placement in your English (or other) class, please don’t hesitate to ask.

ESL staff will also provide instructional and in-class support for these class as needed and/or by request.

• World Geography

• World History

• US History

• Algebra I Single Block

• Algebra I Double Block

• Geometry Double Block

• Algebraic Reasoning

• Biology

• IPC

• Chemistry

• English III

How do students get into and out of ESL?

When a student enrolls in any RRISD school from another district, state or country, they fill out a document called the Home Language Survey. This form asks what language is spoken in the child's home and what language the child speaks most of the time. If the answer to either of those questions is a language other than English (or if it is English AND another language), the student must take an oral and written English proficiency test.

When a student is identified (through testing) as LEP (limited English proficient), the LPAC committee meets to formally admit the student into the ESL program. The ESL services each student receives depend on his or her English proficiency level and other factors, such as participation in Special Education or TAG, years in US schools, etc. Most "ESL services" are in the form of accommodations implemented by the student's classroom teachers.

At the high school level, students can exit ESL by passing the Woodcock-Munoz test (oral proficiency) AND passing either their English I or II EOC on the first try, or the Terra Nova norm-referenced language and reading test. Once the student meets the exit requirements, he or she exits the program and is no longer a LEP student but is still monitored for an additional four years.

What is an LPAC/SST?

• The LPAC (Language Proficiency Assessment Committee) meets at least once every six weeks to discuss the progress of students who have exited the ESL program but are being monitored. The LPAC also meets to make placement decisions for new students, and at the end of every year for all ESL and monitored students at Westwood. The LPAC is composed of an administrator, a parent, and an ESL teacher.

• The SST (Student Support Team) meets to discuss the academic progress of students who are currently in the ESL program AND have failed a core class consistently. The SST is composed of the student's teachers, principal, counselor, ESL case manager, and the parents and the student themselves.

If you are invited to an LPAC or SST meeting via email, please make every effort to attend. It is critical for the success of our students that we have teacher input on their progress.

Student Accommodations & Information on Google Drive

All teachers receive a list of their ESL students. Once you receive that list, you can access your students' accommodations and data through Google Drive.

In compliance with district policy, each ESL and monitored students has a file on Google Drive which details his/her personal information, language proficiency and accommodations that the student should receive in your class. The folder "ESL Accommodations and Information 2019-2020" will be shared with you. (If it hasn't, please email Amanda Bass.) Please either print a copy of these files or save them onto your computer for your records, as well as the file marked "Sheltered Instruction Strategies" in the ESL folder.

When you sign for your students' accommodations, you agree that:

• You will place your printed copy of the ESL accommodations for each student in a folder and have them in a confidential area.

• You have reviewed and are familiar with the accommodations for each student.

• You will implement them as documented on the ESL accommodation sheet.

The ESL accommodation page is a legal document and must be followed. If you do not understand the accommodations or are not sure how to implement them in your classroom, please let one of us know so we can assist you. Please implement the accommodations exactly as they are listed until another LPAC meeting is scheduled and changes are made.