Politics & Government
Students with Limited English Make Progress in Dist. 63
Students move out of the LEP category when they become proficient in English.
While schools as a group did not meet the annual yearly progress standards under the No Child Left Behind Law, the district got some good news about one subgroup of students.
Students in District 63 with limited English proficiency met the Annual Measurable Achievement Objectives last school year, District 63 Superintendent Scott Clay told school board members at their meeting Nov. 2.
“That’s an absolutely fantastic achievement,” Clay said, especially since about a third of the district’s students are considered to have limited English proficiency.
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Earlier:
Some Spanish-speaking students are taught in bilingual classrooms. But most students, including all those that are not native speakers of English or Spanish, receive help from English as a Second Language, or ESL, teachers inside and outside of the classroom.
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About a year ago, the district began using the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol, which aims to help non-ESL teachers teach students with limited English. The district is in the process of training all teachers how to use the framework.
The schools were recognized because the students with limited English, as a subgroup, met their goals for annual yearly progress on the Illinois State Achievement Test last year, Clay said.
The Annual Measurable Achievement Objectives are used to determine whether students are making progress in achieving proficiency in English. Once they are determined to be proficient, they are no longer part of the Limited English Proficiency, or LEP, group.
Students move out of the LEP category; currently 11 percent of students at are in the category.
At the same time, more than 44 percent of students at are in the LEP category. has more than 46 percent LEP students.
Clay congratulated administrators Charlene Cobb, executive director of teaching and learning, and Erin Centanni, coordinator of bilingual and ESL services, for their work preparing all of the district’s teachers to work with students.
“All of our teachers need to teach as if they are ESL teachers because all of our classrooms have limited English learners in them,” Clay said.
