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Geneva officials outline English learner services; 154 students currently eligible
Summary
District staff presented Geneva's ELL services, explaining screening, program types (TPI and TBE), recent staffing growth at the high school, and outcome data: 469 students reported a home language other than English, 154 eligible for services, and 121 of 254 ACCESS test takers met the exit benchmark last year (52%).
District staff on Jan. 13 presented an annual update on English language learner (ELL) services, detailing eligibility procedures, program models and student outcomes.
Shanette Sims (presenting) explained the district identifies ELL eligibility from a home-language survey at enrollment; affirmative answers trigger screening. Screening windows are 30 days at the start of the school year and 14 days for students who enroll after the school year starts, she said. Kindergarten and early first-grade screening focuses on speaking and listening; after that students are assessed in reading, writing, speaking and listening.
Sims described two program types: the transitional program of instruction (TPI, often referred to as ESL-style supports) and the TBE (transitional bilingual education) model, which the state requires where a single language group reaches 20 or more students at a site. The district now operates Spanish bilingual (TBE) programs where thresholds are met; Harrison and the high school were cited as sites with Spanish bilingual services. Sims said the high school increased bilingual staffing from one to two full-time teachers to match student need.
Program counts presented at the meeting: 469 students reported a language other than English on the home-language survey; 154 students are currently eligible for ELL services districtwide. Spanish is the largest language group (246 students); the district also reported smaller groups in Russian (16), Polish (14), Ukrainian (12), Mandarin (10), Vietnamese (10) and others. At the time of the presentation 187 students received services in elementary grades (K–5), 94 in middle schools and 196 at the high school, with additional early-learning program students also noted.
Sims said of 254 students who took the ACCESS assessment last year, 121 met the state's exit benchmark (a composite score around 4.8), representing roughly 52 percent of examinees; the presenter said this exceeds the state average reported at the meeting. The district described monitoring measures for students who exit services and described staff professional-development requirements linked to grant reporting.
Board members thanked staff for the update and asked about newcomer supports, translation of curricular materials and the district's newcomer math course designed to accelerate struggling students into grade-level math within one or two semesters.
