English as a Second Language
English as a Second Language
- The English Language Learner (ELL) program provides English as a Second Language (ESL) services to students who come from language backgrounds other than English. Our goal is to teach students to understand, speak, read, write and spell the English language fluently. Crestwood has eighteen ESL certified teachers and eight bilingual tutors who provide non-English and limited English speaking students with the opportunity to learn the English language while receiving instruction in the core subject areas. The students are taught in English by the ESL certified staff and with the use of SIOP (Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol)-trained general education staff. About 22-25% of our total school population receives services from our ESL staff. Services are provided to students who have English skills at the entering, emerging, developing, expanding, bridging and monitoring levels.
ESL Program goals:
The goal of our ESL program is to provide English language learners with specialized teaching support as well as academic support in the areas of listening, speaking, reading and writing, and the social language necessary to be successful in the general education classroom.
EL Support Guides
These support guides were developed so that teachers and parents better understand what students at each grade level should know or be able to do in the areas of reading, writing, speaking and listening. The guides also provide resources than can be used to supplement student learning.
How are students identified?
At the time of enrollment into the district every parent or guardian is required to complete a Home Language Survey. The surveys are reviewed to determine which student may be a potential ESL student.
How are Students assessed for English Proficiency?
Students in the Crestwood School District are initially screened to determine whether they meet the Michigan Department of Education English Language Program Entrance and Exit Criteria, which is updated annually by the Michigan Department of Education. The WIDA W-APT is used as a screener. Additionally, English Language Learners are evaluated annually using the WIDA. ELL students are also evaluated using state assessment including M-STEP, P-SAT, SAT. The Crestwood School District also evaluates students in Kindergarten through 8th grade using the NWEA. The District's writing portfolio is also used to assess Writing Proficiency.
How are services provided?
ESL teachers deliver the ESL Curriculum. The ESL teachers provide both tutorial and instructional methods to the students. The ESL instruction is provided through Push-in/Pull-out services, or Sheltered Instruction in the content areas. The service delivery model is determined based on the student's proficiency level and needs. The remainder of the student day is spent in the general education classes with on-going monitoring of the student's progress in a collaborative manner between the ESL teacher and the classroom teacher. ESL Support facilitators are also available to support students with academic work completion and tutoring. Support facilitators are also available for interpretation and translation services to both students and parents.
Languages represented by our students include:
Arabic, Bulgarian, Chaldean, Chinese (Taiwanese & Cantonese), Farsi, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Nigerian, Pakistani, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Tamil, Telugu, Turkish, Urdu