Language Arts Literacy & ESL

Patricia Dent, Supervisor of Language Arts Literacy and ESL

Presentation Overview

Language Arts Literacy

Three (3) Year PARCC Trend Analysis Departmental Accomplishments Future Instructional Foci
Five-year Vision

English as a Second Language Four (4) Year Enrollment Trend
Current number of ELs enrolled & languages spoken ACCESS explanation and current status
Family Engagement Five-Year Vision

Language Arts Literacy PARCC TREND ANALYSIS

Percentage of students who met or exceeded grade-level expectations

PARCC Levels 4 or 5

80%

70%	56% 60%
50% 40% 30% 20% 10%
0%

65%
52%	57%

71%

61%	57%	58%

37%

Grade 4	Grade 8	Grade 10

2016	2017	2018

What Has Been Accomplished Language Arts Literacy and ESL

• Phonemic Awareness for Emergent Readers:

Explicit, intentional teaching of the connection between letters and sounds
Important for decoding, spelling and word-busting Implementation of multi-sensory reading support for children
who have yet to meet grade-level standards

• Familiarity with the Standards

Common Core State Standards (2010) to New Jersey Student Learning Standards (2016)
New instructional shifts implemented district-wide

• Common Language and Understanding

The standards and the teacher observation system have created a common language and expectations among the grade-levels

Language Arts Literacy 2018 -2019 Instructional Focus

Challenge 1: Comprehending Content-Based Texts

As texts become more complex, students have difficulty sustaining while reading and comprehending written materials.

The focus on reading literary text is decreased in light of the amount of informational texts that needs to be read. This creates a shift; students internalize reading for learning instead of reading for pleasure.

Instructional Strategies

o Chunking text into manageable, comprehendible parts

o Reading for information instead of reading from cover-to-cover

o Teaching students flexible, meaningful note-taking strategies to support information retention

Challenge 2: Vocabulary –Meaning and Decoding

Words become much more complex as text becomes content focused.

Instructional Strategies

o Teaching morphological knowledge to support reading comprehension, especially when students need to deconstruct and decode difficult, multisyllabic words
o Teaching prefixes and suffixes to help with meaning, spelling and decoding

Five – Year Vision Language Arts Literacy

Multisensory Reading Instruction

Technology as an Educational Tool

Relevant, Engaging Instruction

English as a Second Language

Learning is a treasure that follows its owner everywhere! - Proverb

English as a Second Language Four (4) Year Enrollment Trend

125	124

125	119

120	116

115

110

2015-2016	2016-2017	2017-2018	2018-2019

Students Enrolled In ESL

Year	Number of ELs in District
	
2015-2016	125
	
2017-2016
	119
	
2017-2018	124
	
2018-2019
	116

English as a Second Language Demographic and District Data

Bryant Elementary School
(Kindergarten)
	Hawthorne Elementary School
	Lowell Elementary School
	Whittier Elementary School
	
10 ELs
	15 ELs
	10 ELs
	24 ELs

Malayalam

Spanish

Arabic

Twi

Korean

Chinese

Urdu	Creole	Tagalog

Thomas Jefferson Middle School
	Benjamin Franklin Middle School
	Teaneck High School
	
15 ELs
	9 ELs
	33 ELs

116 total students

English as a Second Language ACCESS explanation

ACCESS 2.0

Is given annually to monitor students' progress in learning academic English Assesses the four language domains of listening, speaking, reading and writing

Proficiency Levels

Proficiency Level
	Descriptor
	
1 - Entering
	Knows and uses minimal social language and minimal academic language with visual and graphic support
	
2 – Emerging
	Knows and uses some social English and general academic language with visual and graphic support
	
3 – Developing
	Knows and uses social English and some specific academic language with visual and graphic supports
	
4 – Expanding
	Knows and uses social English and some technical academic language
	
5 – Bridging
	Knows and uses social and academic language working with grade-level material
	
6 – Reaching
	Knows and uses social and academic language at the high level measured by this test

Percentage of students
English as a Second Language Language Levels Data Trends

Student Performance on the ACCESS 2.0

35%

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

Series1

1- Entering

13%

2 - Emerging

19%

3 - Developing

33%

4 - Expanding

25%

5 - Bridging

8%

6 - Reaching

1%

English as a Second Language Data Analysis

Number of Students who are Developing or Expanding & Writing

Out of 124 test takers, 72 students fall in the expanding (level 3) or developing (level 4) categories.
Writing in the English language is the area that needs strengthening.

Instructional Strategies

o Professional development focused on writing techniques in the English language o Ensuring that every English learner has a Chromebook as a tool for improving
keyboarding skills

o Providing students with low pressure, high – volume writing opportunities

Incorporating Language Instruction in the Content Area classrooms

Language acquisition is paramount in the ESL classes; we want the same instructional strategies to be used in the content-area classrooms.

Instructional Strategies

o All instructional practitioners and the ESL supervisor will provide every building with professional development on effective instructional strategies that can be used with English learners

English as a Second Language Family Engagement

Family Engagement Initiatives Adopting cultural sustainability
Celebrating and supporting biliteracy and bilingualism Celebrating individual language and academic achievement

Creating family opportunities for support Providing dual-language books to families
Providing opportunities for families to partner with the community

Five Year Vision English as a Second language

Increasing supports for One ESL teacher per building	students exiting the
language assistance program