Bethlehem Area School District
Bethlehem, PA

English Acquisition Program Overview

The BASD shall provide an appropriate instructional program for identified students whose primary language is not English. The English Acquisition Program will increase the English language proficiency of eligible students so that they can attain the academic standards adopted by the Board and achieve academic success.

The goals of the English Acquisition Program are described below:

• To provide an academic setting that accelerates the acquisition of English
• To integrate ELL students into mainstream classes
• To increase all students' oral language proficiency
• To coordinate the child's educational program to ensure continuity and reduce fragmentation
• To enhance concept clarification with native language support
• To facilitate communication between the home and school

             
Parents/guardians of all BASD students at the school district are given a Home Language Survey (HLS) to complete for the identification of English Language Learners.  All the original surveys are sent to the Center for Language Assessment where formal language assessments are administered. As required by law, if a language other than English is indicated then the student is formally assessed by the District's language evaluator.  Students identified as non-English or limited English proficient are assigned to their schools and receive ESOL services within a seventy two hour time frame. 

To monitor progress each identified ELL student is assessed twice a year by trained ESOL teachers as he or she moves through the stages of oral proficiency, reading and writing.  All students are taught using ESL methodology and standards-based curriculum.

Standardized testing is completed periodically for monitoring progress and diagnostic language proficiency is reassessed by the District's evaluator upon the request of ESOL teachers for specific students.

English Acquisition at the Elementary School Level

At the elementary level 17 schools are categorized as high impact, moderate impact, or low impact schools.  High impact schools have reduced class size ratios.  Moderate impact schools have class sizes reduced when large numbers of LEP students are served at a particular grade level. 

At the high and moderate impact schools, students at the beginner level of English acquisition are served for 75 minutes daily.  Intermediate students are given 45 to 60 minutes four or five times a week; advanced students receive support based on their particular needs. 

At low impact schools, the itinerant ESOL teachers schedule sessions for small groups of students from three to five sessions a week.  Additional support is provided for ESOL students by tutors at the school's request.  Tutors, under the direct supervision of the ESOL teacher, may also be used in low impact schools, particularly if the student's home language is other than Spanish to ensure adequate ESOL support.

English Acquisition at the Middle School Level

The cornerstone of the middle school level is the teaming concept of the middle school philosophy.  LEP students are assigned to a traditional academic team.  At the beginner level, students attend Broughal Middle School.  This beginner group is part of an academic learning team that provides extensive interaction between the ESOL teachers and the teachers who deliver content area instruction.  The students receive two ESOL periods daily, language arts and reading, with both ESOL teacher and the teacher of language arts and reading. Beginner level students also receive language development; a class taught by the reading specialist and offered three times each six-day cycle.
Content area teachers with the support of a bilingual aide teach other core subjects.   All beginner students attend physical education, industrial arts, home economics, art and music with their English-speaking peers.  These students are assigned buddies and attend lunch, homeroom, and activity periods with regular students.

Intermediate stage students attend their home schools at the middle school level.  The program consists of two periods of ESOL daily and regular instruction in mathematics, science, and social studies with native English speakers.  These students are assigned buddies, if needed, who serve as partners and helpers during homeroom, activity periods, related arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. 

Advanced level students, also served in their home schools, receive only one period of ESOL daily.  They receive instruction in a regular academic program of language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies, during which studies they are integrated into regular classes. All middle school students in the English acquisition program have access to an ESOL tutorial support program offered as an option at the end of the day from 3:00 - 3:45 PM.  The ESOL teacher is required to staff this after-school center to provide peer tutoring, homework club, and after school activities.  Students who have been in the English acquisition program may take advantage of this period as they move through the stages from beginner to intermediate to advanced and even after they exit from the program. This after school program is seen as an opportunity for students to get individual help and discuss concerns.

English Acquisition at the High School Level

The high school program has been an English language instructional program for many years.   The program has a two-track model.  One meets the needs of students who need a program to provide marketable skills from business and vo-tech classes.  The other for typical learners provides a program which enables students to participate in mainstream classes 30-40% the first year, 55% in the second year, and 75-80% third year, and exit the program in the fourth year.

The School to Work program was established with St. Luke's Hospital in 1997. ELLs who did not have college as a career goal take a modified program in which their science and English classes are related to a twice a week shadowing experience with selected hospital mentors.  The close coordination between students' hospital experiences and their English and science classes helps students to find purpose in their studies and gain understanding of the personal responsibility, hard work and knowledge needed by a health professional.  Students are impressed by the teamwork they observe in all areas of the hospital.  Hospital staff provides an atmosphere of respect and caring, and many worthy adult role models for these young people.  Students who complete the school to work program may participate three afternoons a week in rotations organized by the Health Bureau, such as Emergency Medical Services, pediatric clinics, the HIV prevention programs, dental services, etc.

The high school curriculum was revised for the "double block" schedule now in place at Liberty High School.  Each double block period meets for 80 minutes daily.  An increased number of classes to support students learning English as a second language are provided for first and second year beginner level students.