Teachers describe English-learner screening, caseloads and planned translation services

English-learner teachers and staff told the Atlantic Community School District board and public on Oct. 22 how the district identifies, assesses and serves students who are learning English.

The presentation introduced the screening process and yearly assessment the district uses (ELPA21) and said children scoring 4–5 on the assessment are considered proficient and typically do not require EL services. “The domains are reading, speaking, listening, progressing — levels are ones, twos, threes, proficient,” one presenter said while describing screening and scoring.

Local counts and services: Washington Elementary’s EL teacher said Washington currently serves 42 EL students (32 Chuukese speakers, 10 Spanish and one speaker of an Indian language) and described small pull-out groups of two to five students grouped by grade and proficiency. At Schuler Middle an EL teacher reported roughly 40 students including about 10 newcomers; the teacher described grouping by proficiency and tracking students exited from the program. The high-school EL teacher said she serves 33 students (majority Chinese speakers) and described long-term EL students and the district’s strategy of pushing instruction into content classes such as algebra and English to provide academic-language support.

Translation and family outreach: teachers said district staff have relied on ad-hoc methods (student interpreters and Google Translate) for family contact and are awaiting activation of a contracted paid service, Language Line, to provide minutes-based translation for phone calls and meetings. Teachers urged family nights, pre-school paperwork events and better parent-portal onboarding (JMC) so families can check grades and attendance. "We're just waiting for the implementation of it," one staff member said of the language-line service.

Instructional approach and attendance work: staff emphasized scaffolding and co-teaching strategies to develop academic English alongside content. They also described attendance-promotion efforts (certificates, incentives and schedule adjustments) and noted cultural differences in start times can affect punctuality; elementary staff report some strong attendance and are trying targeted engagement to increase daily attendance for newcomers and long-term EL students.

Quotes: "They are generally very happy kids," the elementary teacher said of her EL class. "The younger they are, yes," a presenter said when asked whether younger children acquire English faster. The high-school teacher described "pushing in" instruction to support students in algebra and history classes.

What comes next: teachers asked the board and administration to support implementation of translation services for parent outreach, to help fund summer or pre-school paperwork events, and to coordinate community translators for evening family events.