English Language Learning programs in the West Liberty School District were doing well before the COVID-19 pandemic, Superintendent and English Language Learning (ELL) Director Dr. Diego Giraldo reported to the West Liberty School Board of Education Monday, Dec. 21, at their regular virtual meeting held from the board room at the district administration office.
Dr. Giraldo said before the pandemic, the district was collecting a lot of data in examining the program, doing a “deep dive” into the program. But since then, a lot of the changes the district hoped to make had to be put on hold because of the change in education caused by the pandemic, but the director says that data will be valuable for the district moving forward.
He said the bulk of ELL students speak Spanish and pointed out that population has increased in the past three years and remains steady.
He said those students are learning common core standards just like any other pupil because those students are taught in both English and Spanish.
Dr. Giraldo said ELL students are identified through home language surveys, state screeners who test English language proficiency and said students are tested annually for academics and linguistic assessments. He said the educational model for ELL students align with the federal Every Student Success Act and Title III funding.
The bulk of the ELL students are in the elementary school, where 162 of the 480 students or 34 percent are in the program while the Early Learning Center has 54 of 181 students involved, the middle school has just 15 percent or 45 of 294 in the program and the high school has 21 percent or 79 of 372 students. Overall, 26 percent of the students in the district are enrolled in the English Language Learning program, a total of 340 of the 1,237 students.
Dr. Giraldo said there are four different programs used in the learning strategy from a program that uses techniques and methodology to teach ELL students the use of the English language to programs that develop language proficiency and skills in both languages. Another program is designed to impact English language skills so students can transition into English only mainstream classroom while another program maintains and develops skills in the primary language while developing English skills.
The director said the goal is to get students proficient enough in English to exit the program, noting a total of 71 have done so in the past two years.
He said the study found there are also a lot of students progressing strongly in the program throughout the district, pointing out 273 students are at that level including 133 in the elementary school. The lowest calculations are with students just beginning the program – totaling 38 in the district including 20 in fifth grade or lower and 11 in high school. He said ELL students have not affected overall testing scores for the district much and said writing is the most difficult area for ELL students, while they are also rated for listening, reading and speaking skills.