English Language Development

eld-logo

The goal of the English Language Development program is to provide planned instruction in listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in English to students whose first language is not English. These skills will help enable them to fully participate in their academic classes, in their career programs, and also in the community.

The ELD Program Specialists are Kristi McConnell and Emily Wolszczenski. They both came to Dauphin County Technical School from the CAIU, having taught K-12 ESL in central Pennsylvania. They both have a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction. If you need to contact them, the following is their contact information:

Kristi McConnell, M. Ed.

Emily Wolszczenski, M.Ed.

ESL Program Specialist

(717) 652-3170 ext. 2100

ELD Placement Procedures

  • Home Language Survey – identifies all students who speak a language other than English at home.
  • Interview- work with families to discover information background about students
  • Data gathering to seek any prior ELD support
  • Newcomers will be screened to assess English language proficiency level.
  • Previous WIDA ACCESS test scores will be used to place students for instructional support.

Parent Notification of Placement

Every Student Succeeds Act requires that parents/guardians be notified of ESL Program placement within 30 days of the start of school and 14 days of registration thereafter.

Programming

ELD support is provided to students based on the data evidence needs of English learners. English language learners receive English language instruction in their core content classes.. The content area teachers collaborate with the ESL teacher to modify and adapt instruction and assessment.

Accommodations for English Language Learners

Accommodations are made for English learners based on the individual needs and/or levels of each student. A list of possible accommodations are available in the ESL classroom.

Exit Criteria

In order to qualify for exiting the ESL program, students must:

  1. Attain a minimum composite score of 4.5 on WIDA ACCESS Test
  2. Demonstrate the ability to access academic content and interact with other students and teachers both academically and socially in an English language setting
  3. Evidence of this ability is demonstrated by the student on the annual English language proficiency assessment, ACCESS for ELLs® , and gathered by teachers using standardized language use inventories
  4. The ACCESS for ELLs® and the language use inventory together produce a single score
  5. If that score exceeds the state-defined threshold, then the student is eligible to be reclassified
  6. After the student is exited from the ELD program, he/she will be actively monitored for two years