English as a Second Language - Rowan-Salisbury Schools

Mission

The Rowan-Salisbury School System offers an educational program to meet the needs of students who are English Language Learners in grades K-12. This program addresses two areas: language acquisition and cultural adjustment. The goal of the English as a Second Language (ESL) Program is to provide students with the opportunity to develop communication skills in speaking, listening, reading, and writing, thereby enabling students to be successful within the academic mainstream classroom. North Carolina has adopted English Language Proficiency (ELP) Standards that are designed to address the needs of ESL students to become fully proficient in both social and academic English. These standards are aligned to our English Language Proficiency test. The ELP standards will provide a framework for teaching English language learners in grades K-12.

The program will assist students through their cultural adjustment by helping them develop an understanding of American Culture. At the same time, students will be encouraged to share their cultural backgrounds and realize the importance of their role in a multicultural society.

The involvement of EL parents is strongly encouraged to provide support for English language learners. It is our belief, that parental support will impact student academic achievement. A Parent Resource Center was established to provide parent learning opportunities and educational instructional materials for use at home. A bilingual Parent Liaison is available to assist parents during the regular school term and in the summer as needed.

Parent Engagement

Parent Meetings / Reuniones de Padres de Familia

The Title III Parent Advisory Committee meets at Wallace Educational Forum. Please contact us at 704-630-6089. El Comité de Padres del Título III se reúne en el Foro Educativo Wallace. Contáctese con nosotros al 704-630-6089 para obtener información sobre nuestra próxima reunión.

ESL News / Noticias Para Padres

Literacy Ideas / Ideas de Lectura

Parent Advisory Committee Meeting / Reunion de Consejero de Padres

Parent Meeting / Reuniones De Padres de Familia

ESL teachers are required to provide at a minimum two parent activities annually. Parent engagement activities should provide parents with information about ESL program services, school routines, and training on how to support the education of their children at home. Teachers must submit their parent engagement activities to the ESL Parent Liaison. The parent liaison will assist teachers with planning their parent activities and with securing materials.

A Parent Resource Center is available on the second floor of the Wallace Educational Forum for parents to check out instructional materials for use at home. The center offers a variety of parent workshops throughout the year.

Recursos para padres (Español)

RSS Parent Resources (English)

- Para más información en Español, haga “click” aquí -

Parent and Family Engagement Policy

Click HERE to access the School Board Policy

ESL Program Placement

The U.S. Office for Civil Rights, as well as, North Carolina State Board of Education policy HSP-K000 (16NCAC 6D.0106) requires that a Home Language Survey (HLS) be administered to all students upon initial enrollment. The home language survey is used to determine if the student is a language minority student. If the answer to any question on the HLS is “other than English,” the student is considered a language minority student. It is the responsibility of the principal/designee to make sure that a home language survey be administered to all students K-12, regardless of the language spoken, at the time the student is registered or is enrolled in school.

The Data manager will provide the ESL teachers with a copy of the HLS and/or a copy of the 804 report indicating students whose parent answered “other than English.” The ESL teacher will meet with the new students to administer the state English language proficiency test, which is currently the WIDA-ACCESS Placement Test (W-APT) for Kindergarteners and the WIDA Screener for Grades 1-12. These tests are screeners and assess the student’s English language ability in the areas of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The ESL teacher will check the student’s record for evidence of participation in a previous ESL program before administering the test. If the student has a recent W-APT, Screener, or ACCESS score, the student will not have to be retested. Teachers should contact the ESL office if there is a question about testing a new student. Students who are identified as limited English proficient (LEP) are eligible for ESL program services and possibly accommodations on state standardized tests. Parents must be notified concerning their child’s test scores and participation in the ESL program. If a parent refuses ESL services, the student is still eligible for accommodations on state standardized tests. Parents may not refuse testing to determine English language proficiency.

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Notification of Testing for Parents / Notificación para los Padres

ELD Standards

Rowan-Salisbury School System follows the North Carolina Standard Course of Study. The North Carolina English Language Proficiency Standard Course of Study is the WIDA English Language Proficiency Standards [approved by the State Board of Education June 5, 2008]. These standards are K-12.

English Language Proficiency Standards

Standard 1: English language learners communicate for Social and Instructional purposes within the school setting.

Standard 2: English language learners communicate information, ideas and concepts necessary for academic success in the content area of Language Arts.

Standard 3: English language learners communicate information, ideas and concepts necessary for academic success in the content area of Mathematics.

Standard 4: English language learners communicate information, ideas and concepts necessary for academic success in the content area of Science.

Standard 5: English language learners communicate information, ideas and concepts necessary for academic success in the content area of Social Studies.

The Performance Definitions for North Carolina's level of English proficiency follow WIDA's Performance Definitions. These can be downloaded.

Click HERE to follow a link to detailed information about these standards on WIDA's website.