D018 LEADING INCLUSIVE SCHOOLS TASK 3 (El Program) 2025/2026 SERIES PASSED WESTERN GOVERNORS UNIVERSITY

1A. Justification for the need for an EL program:
As the principal of West Oak Cove School, I contend that we must implement
an EL program to serve our students best. Our school comprises 70% English
Learner students, with the following breakdown: 25% of our students speak
Spanish, 15% Portuguese, 12% Arabic, and 8% Mandarin. Under federal legislation,
from the Supreme Court Case hearing of Lau vs. Nichols, it was decided in 1974 that
districts create ELL programs to assist students in the learning of English, as well as
aid with said students to achieve with the district educational goals. It will be
necessary for West Oak Cove School to implement a proper EL program to
accommodate our large portion of EL students, per this Supreme Court decision.
A2. Description of the newly proposed EL program:
I propose that West Oak Cove School utilize a new EL program, ran by the
school, to best accommodate our large amount of EL students. Our first step will
be determining eligibility of students into our new EL program. “Under section
3113(b)(2) of the ESEA, a student who may be an EL must be assessed for such
status within 30 days of enrollment in a school in the State.” (Developing Ell
Programs). The school will begin eligibility by requiring all students upon
registration to indicate their native, or home language spoken at home. For all
students who do not indicate English as their primary language, a screener test will
be administered to determine eligibility for EL services. Parents will be notified of
the screener test, through both phone call, and e-mail. If parental communication is
limited due to understanding English, an interpreter of the parent’s native language
will be used to explain the purpose of the screener test, as well as all
accommodations that will be made for their student to succeed. All students testing
less than a 4.2 on the 6-point scale, will be eligible for EL services. The 4.2 mark is
in accordance with the WIDA testing guide. (English Learner Identification and
Placement Guidance). Parents will be informed of their child’s enrollment in the EL
program within 30 days, in accordance with Title I law 200.61(2)(c) (Govinfo 1).
Classroom instructional accommodations will have to be made for our
students determined to be ELLs. To be in accordance with ESEA (Section 1111(b)(1)
(F), we must provide instructional accommodations that coincide with our state
English Learner Program standards which correspond to the proficiency level of the
content area standards. (Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965). To
accomplish this, we will provide daily time that students will spend with statecertified EL teachers who will work in conjunction with core content teachers to
assist in academic vocabulary and fluency concerning those classes. Depending on
the amount of EL teachers present in the building, this time will either be used in
lieu of time of spent in elective classes or be pulled from 20% of the academic time
spent in their core class.
EL teachers, monitored by the head of the EL department, ideally a former EL
teacher who has become an assistant principal, will work closely with core content
teachers to monitor and assist EL students. When feasible, EL teachers will help
content teachers arrange accommodations within the core content classes to best
use instructional time to reach all ELLs. These accommodations can be as simple as
creating vocabulary translation sheets for recurring academic vocabulary, anchor
charts with symbols and translations, or as detailed as provided complete
translations of notes or PowerPoint slides. Plans for making accommodations for our
ELLs will be made during PLC meetings, with grade-specific core content teachers