English Language Learner Program (ELL)

Mission Statement
It is the mission of the ELL Program, within the available resources, to provide all limited English proficient (LEP) children with an equal opportunity to reach for their highest potential, provide strong educational choices, and satisfy the basic need for a successful adult life.

Goals

--Identify students with primary home languages other than English

--Assess eligibility for services and recommend placement options

--Provide high-quality English language development instruction

--Build positive self-esteem

--Strengthen the collaboration between the regular classroom, other instructional services, and home

Program Descriptions

The English Language Learner program is directly available at Lincoln, Miller Valley, Taylor Hicks, and Washington Elementary Schools, Prescott Mile High Middle School, and Prescott High School. Abia Judd Elementary and Granite Mountain Middle School do not have ELL personnel at their facilities; consultation is available.

PUSD offers a Sheltered English Immersion model to those students who enter our district as newly arrived Limited English Proficient (LEP). Sheltered English Immersion instruction is specially designed for students who are limited in English. The program instructs students to speak, read, and write fluently in English. Certified English as a Second Language teachers use curricula and methodologies specifically designed to promote English language skills while teaching content area curricula. All instruction is given in English. All instruction is based on the Arizona State Academic Standards and the Arizona English Language Learner Proficiency Standards.

This program prepares English Language Learners (ELL) to enter grade level mainstream as soon as they are ready. Students are formally assessed a minimum of one time per year using the Arizona English Language Learner Assessment (AZELLA) to ensure that the goals of speaking, listening, and writing in English are achieved. As a norm, students will spend one full school year in a Sheltered English Immersion classroom for a minimum of 90 minutes a day. Upon exiting from the Sheltered English Immersion Programs, ELL students will be fully mainstreamed in a regular education program. The ELL program will continue to provide support for those mainstreamed students through classroom visits and consultation with classroom teachers.

Content revised 11/06