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Ottumwa schools to pilot newcomer program for grades 3'5 at Farney to accelerate English acquisition
Summary
The district presented a newcomer program designed to provide concentrated English-language support for students with little or no English; staff detailed staffing, screening tools and an expected one- to two-semester placement model and said the program will start in fall and be centered at Farney Elementary.
At a regular meeting the district presented a new newcomer program intended to support students who arrive with limited or no English. Mike Steensman, an El program staff member, said the district currently serves roughly 1,200 English learners and that 272 of them are in grades 3'5; he summarized the design: an intake/welcome center, concentrated instruction, push-in and pull-out supports, and a goal of returning students to their resident school once they have acquired enough school-based language.
Nut graf: The newcomer program will be centered at Farney Elementary for grades 3'5, include extended instructional blocks, and rely on additional EL staff and screening tools such as the statewide ELPA21 screener plus a locally developed screener to speed placement decisions.
Mike said, "As of today, there are 42 languages spoken in the District, which is actually the lowest number that I've ran I think in probably the 6 years that I've been here. With 3 students short of 1,200. So I will round it up and say we have 1,200 ELs that were served today, and 272 English learners that are between grades 3 and 5." He described the newcomers design as 90 minutes of targeted instruction in a dedicated space while keeping students engaged in specials and lunch with peers.
Suzanne Minor, an EL teacher who is part of the district team, said this model increases dedicated time: "Now we'll be able to work 90 minutes with them and then still push in by having 3 teachers at Kearney." Staff said they have added one EL teacher to the Farney team to allow the newcomer block and that the program will use ELPA21 for initial screening while the district develops a local rapid screener to reduce placement delays.
Administrators and the district diversity advocate said the program will attempt to serve low-incidence languages by providing a consistent welcome point and a designated staff contact. Steve Zimmerman, principal at Farney, said the building has space and additional EL staffing to support the pilot.
Ending: The board and staff said the newcomer program would begin in the fall, run for one or two semesters depending on the student's arrival date and progress, and that staff will return to the board with evaluation data and any recommendations to expand to younger grades if outcomes suggest it. Board members Jan and Becky participated on the committee reviewing the plan and were thanked for their input.
