Teachers who work with English as a Second Language learners will find ESL/ESOL/ELL/EFL reading/writing skill-building children's books, stories, activities, ideas, strategies to help PreK-3, 4-8, and 9-12 students learn to read.
Nebraska
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As of the 2007-2008 school year, Nebraska's schools were home to more than 20,000 English language learners (ELLs), which marks a 171% increase from the 1997-1998 school year (NCELA, 2010). The top five languages or language groups spoken by ELLs in Nebraska are Spanish, Vietnamese, Malay, German, and Arabic (EPE, 2009).
State ELL Resources
State Agency: Nebraska Department of Education
ELL Website: Title III/LEP Information
ELL Manual: Nebraska Department of Education ELL Program Guide* (PDF)
ELL Identification
Home Language Survey: On page 4 of the Nebraska Department of Education ELL Program Guide* it states that "Districts are required to identify students who have a home language other than English." New students should complete a Home Language Survey [HLS]. A sample HLS is available at TransACT, a service provided to Nebraska schools at no charge. Many of the documents are available in multiple languages.
Placement Exam: Some commonly used assessments in Nebraska include: Language Assessment Scales [LAS], IDEA Proficiency Test [IPT], and Woodcock-Muñoz. Districts that do not have an assessment should contact the local Educational Service Unit [ESU] or the Nebraska Department of Education [NDE] for information obtaining assessment materials.Â
ELP Standards & Assessment
ELP Standards: English Language Proficiency Standards and Test and Item Specifications* (PDF)
ELP Assessment: English Language Development Assessment [ELDA]* (PDF)
ELL Instruction
Nebraska has no restrictions regarding programming for English learners so long as they are scientifically proven to work and are successful. See page 10 of Nebraska Department of Education ELL Program Guide* for additional program descriptions.
Statewide Standards-Based Assessment
Assessment: Nebraska Student Assessment [NSA]
ELL Accommodations: Accommodations Resources
Additional Information
NCELA: Title III Information
Common Core State Standards: Yes
MIDTESOL serves mid-America teachers of English from Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, and Missouri to speakers of other languages.
Nebraska State Education Association
Nebraska State Education Association is a National Education Association State Affiliate that regularly lobbies legislators for the resources schools need, campaigns for higher professional standards for the teaching profession, and files legal actions to protect academic freedom and the rights of school employees.
Nebraska State Parent Information Resource Centers
The Nebraska State PIRC&s goals are to provide information and resources to both parents and educators in order to strengthen partnerships between schools and families.
References
Editorial Projects in Education (EPE). "Most Common Non-English Languages Spoken by ELL Youths, by State." Perspectives on a Population: English-Language Learners in American Schools (Education Week's Quality Counts 2009 Report). Pg. 13. Retrieved from http://www.edweek.org/ew/toc/2009/01/08/index.html. January 2009.
Office of English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic Achievement for Limited English Proficient Students. Nebraska Rate of EL Growth (1997/98-2007/08). Compiled July 2010 and retrieved from http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/t3sis/state/nebraska/data.
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