Welcome to ELL
English Language Learners

ELL is for students whose first language is not English. When students who speak a second language at home, enter school in the United States, they are given a test to determine their needs in English. This test is called the IPT. The test identifies the students’ understanding and use of English in Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing. Each year a student is given the IPT test and when a student scores Superior on all four domains, they exit ESL status. Until a student exits ELL, they are also referred to as LEP or Limited English Proficient students.

Curriculum Overview:
In Asheboro City Schools, ELL elementary teachers use a curriculum called On Our Way to English for grades Kindergarten through 5th grade. The program is a comprehensive curriculum that incorporates all four strands of instruction – reading, listening, writing and speaking. It provides content based learning through thematic units to help develop academic language. Each grade level addresses the appropriate learning levels for children at that grade. The curriculum is also aligned with the North Carolina Standards of English Language Development.

ELL students at Teachey are pulled from their regular class to go to ELL for 30 minute blocks of time. Most students in k-2nd grade go to ESL 5 days a week, while 3rd-5th graders may go 2, 3 or 5 days a week. During this pull-out time, students work on strengthening their English skills.

The ELL teacher is responsible for:

• Giving the initial IPT tests to all new second language students in the school to determine their LEP status,
• Maintaining accurate record keeping on progress of the LEP students,
• Classroom modifications given by classroom teachers,
• Making suggestions to classroom teachers to help LEP students,
• Administering the annual IPT test,
• Maintaining accountability records as mandated by NCLB.