Background+Information

=__Background Information__:= =Why are Category Trainings required for teachers working with English language learners?=

//Rights of English Language Learners://
Education is a basic right of all children in the United States. The federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) added important new educational rights for English language learners and their parents. Federal laws, such as NCLB, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974, and Massachusetts state laws recognize that students who are new to the United States and who are English language learners need extra support. They need help to learn English and, at the same time, to master academic standards. This issue of Pointers outlines some of these rights under state and federal laws. State and federal laws use the terms “students with limited English proficiency” (or, LEP stu- dents), “English language learners” (or, ELLs), and “English learners” to describe the same group of students. Massachusetts PIRC prefers the term “English language learners” because it gives a positive focus on what these students are accomplishing—mastering a new language while learning all school subjects and becoming active members of their school communities.  ( PIRC, Pointers: []) =Massachusetts Law:=

2002-Chapter 71A: Structured/Sheltered English Immersion Law
FAQs about Chapter 71A: **[]** =Implications of Ch. 71A:=
 * Passed into law in November 2002 as a result of a election ballot question (“Question 2”)
 * 76% of Massachusetts voted for this law that voted in a state level program for ELLs.
 * Created a state mandated model for Limited English Proficient students known as SEI (limiting flexibility NCLB offers by MA state law)
 * Allows transitional bilingual education with waivers, at the secondary level
 * Later, the legislature voted to allow Two-Way Bilingual Programs
 * All districts now have to create an SEI program if there is even __ONE__ ELL identified
 * It’s a full-day program
 * ESL “tutorials” or part-time “services”, working with aides or paraprofessionals alone, are not enough-Need to have both ESL and sheltered content classrooms
 * __How__ SEI is structured will look different in low and high incidence districts (and within schools) but every district with an ELL has to create an SEI program. This requires strategic planning.

=What is Structured/Sheltered English Immersion?=

**TWO COMPONENTS** = 1. ELD, English language development program, or ESL, English as a second language instruction, is explicit and direct instruction about the English language intended to promote English language acquisition by LEP students and to help them “catch up” to their peers who are proficient in English. It includes learning outcomes in speaking, listening, reading, and writing.=

= 2. Sheltered content instruction, is instruction that includes approaches, strategies and methodology that makes the content of the lesson more comprehensible to students who are not yet proficient in English. It includes learning outcomes in speaking, listening, reading, writing, and in content specific areas.=