The goal of Northwest R-I School District's English Language Learners (ELL) program is to provide the necessary support to staff and children that will assist the students in becoming proficient in English and meet State standards for achievement.
Program Objectives:
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The district will identify all students in need of ELL services.
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The district will provide necessary ELL services to all eligible children
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Students receiving ELL services will make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) as defined by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).
Who are eligible ELLs?
On the enrollement forms there are the following two questions:
- Is a language other than English spoken in the student's home or environment?
- Does the student speak another language?
If either of the answers to these questions is "yes," then the student is screened for English proficiency using the WIDA W-APT screening assessment. If the teacher thinks there is another language spoken at home, students can also be tested. Based on this test, the student either qualifies or does not qualify for services.
W-APT Screening Assessment
- All districts are required to use the WIDA W-APT screener as their screening assessment for all incoming possible ELL students.
- Different grades have different screeners. (Table is attached at the bottom of this page.)
ACCESS Test
- ACCESS for ELLs is the English language proficiency assessment that the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has selected to meet the requirement of No Child Left Behind to annually assess Missouri's students who are eligible for ELL (English Language Learning) services.
- ACCESS stands for Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State-to-State for English Language Learners.
- ACCESS assesses the academic English language proficiency of studetns in listening, speaking, reading and writing.
- Given in January/February each year.
Monitoring
- Students are placed on a two year monitoring status, where the ELL teacher checks with the classroom teacher to see if there are any areas of concern.
- Students are placed on monitoring status based on the ACCESS score.
