Aspen Elementary School

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Welcome to the 2008/09 school year. My name is Mrs. Debbie Hurst and I am the ELL (English Language Learners) Learning Center teacher at Aspen Elementary. I am required by the state to test any students who speak and/or hear other family members speaking another language consistently within their homes. The reason we test students even if they just hear another language being spoken consistently is because children develop language cognitively and, even if they are not responding verbally in that language, they are processing it mentally.

The state has created an academically-based test to score English Language Proficiency. It scores your child on four areas, which are:
• Speaking English--when asked questions, your child is able to answer using the English language
• Listening to an English speaker and responding back using the English language
• Reading Comprehension--your child reads grade-level material and answers questions about the readings
• Writing--your child is asked to write in English at their grade level

Many times, people confuse conversational English (speaking to another person using the English language) with academic English (the skills your child will need to be successful throughout their educational journey. For example: correct sentence structure, verb agreement, rules for silent vowels, etc.). We focus on the academic side of English in our program.

While meeting state law regarding ELL services, every school sets up their program a little differently. Here are some of the questions parents have asked us at Aspen Elementary in the past and I hope these will answer some of the questions you might have about the services we provide for your child.

1. Our curriculum at Aspen is only administered in English; no other language is spoken when teaching your child in our ELL program. Our program is Transitional Program of Instruction (TPI).

2. Your child is NOT pulled out of their homeroom classes for the entire day. Aspen Elementary has set up a literacy block and within that block of time, all classes teach guided reading. It is usually 45 minutes long and during the guided reading period students are differentiated to meet their literacy needs. Any ELL-qualified student who would benefit from additional support with phonics, syntax, and the semantics of the English language (i.e. academics) would come to my learning center for reinforcement during this time.

3. Your child has already learned one language and is working on their second (or more), which is amazing. I am just here to help them build up their English vocabulary and create a strong understanding of the English language. This is a process and most research in this area shows that anyone learning a second language could take 3 to 5 years to become proficient in that language.

If you have any questions about the ELL program at Aspen, please feel free to call me at (847) 990-4368.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Debbie Hurst