CENTER BASED PROGRAM
Our district is a center-based program ESOL program. That means that students requiring English language services may need to attend a neighboring school to receive those services. Any student that this applies to will receive free daily transportation via bus.
We currently have 11 elementary, 4 middle, and 3 high school centers. All ESOL teachers in Blue Valley are highly qualified and ESOL licensed.
View the Center/Feeder schools.
BENEFITS OF ESOL PROGRAM
Blue Valley Schools English Language Learners program provides instruction for English language acquisition, so students can succeed in academic content, and adapt socially and culturally.
Through direct ESOL instruction, students are able to gain English proficiency necessary to be successful in the general education classroom. Through listening, speaking, reading, and writing (the four domains of English Language Arts), students are supported in mastering academic and social language. The instruction is scaffolded so that English language learners are working at their own proficiency level in small group instruction in the ESOL classroom. Our highly qualified ESOL endorsed teachers strive to create a nurturing and academically rigorous environment.
English language learners (ELLs) are enrolled in ESOL center schools all day and attend a regular classroom with a general education teacher. Students are taught in the ESOL classroom for approximately 60 minutes each day. If a student is at a beginning proficiency level, he or she will receive additional support.
Middle and High School ELLs are enrolled in one or more ESOL class periods each day.
Other areas in the ESOL curriculum for students new to the country include familiarizing the student with the American school environment and culture.
ILP: INDIVIDUAL LEARNING PLAN
All students that qualify for English language services have an Individual Learning Plan (ILP). ESOL teachers create the plan to monitor progress, set student goals, and determine any necessary modifications or accommodations. These supports make instruction and assessments understandable to students.
WAIVING SERVICES
Guardians have the right to refuse daily ESOL services for the current school year, or to cancel a waiver at any time. If a guardian waives services, the child is still mandated to take our state proficiency assessment each year until proficient. If the waiver is cancelled, the ELL will be placed in ESOL classes.
