1. Language Allocation Policy (LAP)
P.S. 105
November 4, 2014
By Alice Lee

2. Why do we have ESL or Bilingual Programs?
NYS Commissioner’s Regulation Part 154:
In a Landmark 1974 decision, Lau vs Nichols, the US Supreme Court established the right of ELL students to have a meaningful opportunity to participate in the educational program.
Aspira vs. Board of Education – 1972 , consent decree in which the board agreed to begin to provide a transitional bilingual instructional program
Both cases fought for equal access to fully participate in the public education system for ELL students.

3. ELLs within the context of the entire DOE student population
41% OF THE STUdents ENROLLED IN nyc PUBLIC SCHOOLS SPEAK ANOTHER LANGUAGE AT HOME
Ells MAKE UP 14.4% of the entirE doe STUDENT POPULATION
Nearly half (47.5%) of the DOE’s ELLs were born in another country
16.4%, 12,137 students came from China – the second largest ElL population

4. Top 12 ELL Languages in NYC Public Schools
Spanish (63.4%) • Urdu (1.9%)
Chinese (13.6%) • French (1.5%)
Other (5.2%)* • Punjabi (0.6%)
Bengali (3.9%) • Albanian (0.6%)
Arabic (3.6%) • Korean (0.5%)
Haitian Creole (2.5%) • Uzbek (0.5%)
Russian (2.1%)
*(151 languages are represented in this group)

5. New ELL Students by Grade and Level
PS 105 LABR (Fall 2013)
Grades K 1 2 3 4 5
Beginner
128 15
Intermediate 58
Advanced 25
Proficient
Total New Admits 16
227 18

6. PS 105 NYSESLAT Scores By Levels
Grades
Beginner
Intermediate
Advanced
Grand Total % # 0K
128
60.7% 58
27.5% 25
11.8%
211
100% 01 44
18.6% 52
22%
140
59.3%
236 02 17
10.3% 63
38.2% 85
51.5%
165 03
12.5% 30
22.1% 89
65.4%
136 04 23
19.3% 33
27.7%
52.9%
119 05 34
27.4% 24 66
53.2%
124
Total
263
26.5%
260
26.2%
468
47.2%
991

7. Number of Proficient Students By Modality
PS 105 NYSESLAT Results
Listening
Speaking
Reading
Writing
Total Students
Grade # % K 1 65
29.4% 43
19.5%
101
45.7%
106
48%
221 2 69
41.8% 29
17.6% 57
34.5% 76
46.1%
165 3 89
70% 6
4.7% 84
66.1% 60
47.2%
127 4 22
18.8% 45
38.5% 47
40.2% 87
74.4%
117 5 39
32.2% 14
11.6% 75
62.1% 82
67.8%
121
284
137
364
411
752

8. What is the Language Allocation Policy?
It is a systematic plan for language development that guides programmatic and curricular decisions for ELL students until they acquire academic proficiency in English.
Specific guidelines for language of instruction for ELL students in ESL and bilingual programs

9. Why do we have a LAP?
As per CR Part 154, SED requires that DOE schools must develop, submit, and implement a comprehensive LAP that addresses the unique academic and linguistic needs of their ELLs and families.
CR Part 154 establishes standards for the education of ELL students. All districts must provide ELL students with equal access to all school programs and services offered by the district. Non-compliance will result in reduced funding to schools.
Schools must submit this plan every two years.

10. What are the components of the LAP?
Analysis of all available assessment data for ELL students as well as non-ELL students on all grade levels
How the school uses the trends and patterns to inform instructional decisions
How the school evaluate the success of programs for ELLs
The ELL identification process – HLIS and the Program choice for parents

11. ELL Program Models at PS 105
Freestanding ESL program including push-in and self-contained
Chinese Transitional Bilingual Program
Both programs must provide intensive ESL instruction:
Beginner and Intermediate ELLs – 8 periods of ESL instruction
Advanced ELLs – 4 periods of mandated ESL instruction

12. Language of Instruction for ESL Programs
Freestanding ESL programs:
ESL students receive language arts and subject area instruction in English.
Teachers employ specific ESL methodologies which can include native language support.
ELLs exit ESL service when they reach proficiency on the NYSESLAT
Former ELLs continue to receive transitional support for up to one year, and they are entitled to ELL testing accommodations for up to two years.

13. Language of Instruction for Bilingual Programs
Transitional Bilingual programs – English and Chinese
Language arts and subject area instruction in both native language and in English, in addition to intensive ESL instruction.
The ratio of native language to English instruction will shift as students become more proficient in English.
Students can exit when they reach proficiency on the New York State English as a Second Language Achievement Test (NYSESLAT), however schools are required to provide students with language support for an additional two years after proficiency is achieved.

14. Language Allocation for Bilingual Classes in STARS
School Model
Beginners –
30% English : 70% Chinese
Intermediate –
50%English : 50% Chinese
Advanced –
70% English : 30% Chinese

15. Native Language in the Bilingual Program
Every bilingual class must have one period of native language arts per day
All content area instruction should be taught in the native language to ensure comprehension

16. ELL Groups and Subpopulations
ELL newcomers – 63.1% of the 159,162 ELLs are new comers
ELLs with disabilities – citywide, 21.6% of ELLs have IEPS
Long-term ELLs – students who continue to require ELL service after 6 years – these students often demonstrate oral proficiency in English, but low academic literacy in both English and their home language.
73% of the City’s 19,984 long-term ELLs were born in the US
Nearly 50% of the long-term ELLs have IEPs (84.6% Spanish, 4.8% Chinese)
Findings show that a common characteristic is educational inconsistency, such as moving back and forth between US and their native country, or moved between bilingual and ESL programs.
Students with interrupted Formal Education (SIFE) –Students who come from a home where a language other than English is spoken, have had at least two years less schooling than their peers; function at least two years below expected grade level in reading and math; and may be pre-literate in their first language.

17. What Is the Difference Between Social and Academic English?
Social English:
Everyday communication in oral and written forms.
May develop within a few months. However, it will take a couple of years to fully develop social English skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
Academic English:
Academic English is more demanding and complex than social English.
Academic English is the language necessary for success in school. It is related to a standards-based curriculum, including the content areas of math, science, social studies, and English language arts.

18. Why is it important for ELLs to develop academic English?
ELLs come to school not only to learn how to communicate socially, but to become academically proficient to handle the standards-based curriculum.
Learn academic vocabulary to develop the content knowledge in English to succeed in future schooling.
Provide support and scaffolding according to their ability to ensure learning with rigor.

19. To Facilitate Academic Language Development
In math - teach terms for subtraction, like "subtract," "take away," and "decreased by.”
In science - teach terms to connect the parts of an experiment, like "therefore," "as a result," and "for instance."
In social studies - teach the words and also the background knowledge that ELLs will need. For example, background knowledge to Thanksgiving.
In language arts - teach ELLs by using basic graphic organizers for word development to visually represent knowledge: concept maps, KWLs, synonyms, antonyms, tenses, etc.

20. How to Help Students Develop Both Social and Academic English?
Determine students' levels of proficiency
Begin with social English
Include many contextual supports through visuals, maps, charts, manipulatives, music, and pantomiming. Use Total Physical Response (TPR) activities to help ELLs learn by doing.
Add content vocabulary in your lessons or units.
Use sentence frames in discussion as support
Create cooperative learning groups
Challenge students' thinking using Bloom's taxonomy

21. Challenge Students' Thinking
For example: In a unit on urban and urban life in the US for intermediate students:
Lessons focus:
Content vocabulary
Students will be expected to produce short statements:
Knowledge and comprehension - know what they can find in a U.S. city and in the country
Application - determine whether someone lives in the country or city based on a description of what they see
Analysis - name two or three ways in which cities and rural towns are similar and different
Synthesis - draw typical city and rural scenes
Evaluation - say whether they would prefer to live in the city or the country and give one or two reasons why

22. What are your next steps?
Look at the data pattern of your students
Determine learning groups using all available data
Identify content vocabulary for each unit
Identify appropriate resources
Create differentiated activities and lessons to address the needs of your students with rigor
Create appropriate assessment for learning
Refer to “Specific Considerations for Teachers of English Language Learners” from Advance to guide your planning.