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.
Pennsylvania
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As of the 2007-2008 school year, Pennsylvania's schools were home to more than 46,700 English language learners (ELLs), which marks a 114.5% increase from the 1997-1998 school year (NCELA, 2010). The top five languages or language groups spoken by ELLs in Pennsylvania are Spanish, Pennsylvania Dutch, German, Vietnamese, and Chinese (EPE, 2009).
Pennsylvania is a member of WIDA (World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment), joining in 2006. WIDA is a consortium of states dedicated to the design and implementation of high standards and equitable educational opportunities for English language learners which offers states programming for identifying and annually assessing the English language development of its English learners.
State ELL Resources
State Agency: Pennsylvania Department of Education
ELL Website: English as a Second Language
ELL Manual: Educating Students With Limited English Proficiency (LEP) and English Language Learners (ELL)
ELL Identification
Home Language Survey: "All students seeking first time enrollment in a school shall be given a home language survey in according with requirements of the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights. Enrollment of the student may not be delayed in order to administer the Home Language Survey. A copy of the Home Language Survey is provided at this website." More information is available from the Enrollment of Students regulations.
Placement Exam: WIDA-ACCESS Placement Test
ELP Standards & Assessment
ELP Standards: Information about Pennsylvania's ELP standards, which are based on the WIDA English Language Proficiency Standards, is available through the Language Proficiency Standards for PreK-12 ELLs website.
ELP Assessment: WIDA-ACCESS ACCESS for ELLs
ELL Instruction
Options for English language instructional programs are charted in Characteristics of Major Program Models for LEP Students.*
Statewide Standards-Based Assessment
Assessment: Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA)
ELL Accommodations: Testing Accommodations
Additional Information
NCELA: Title III Information
WIDA: Statewide Contact Information
Common Core State Standards: Yes
AFT Pennsylvania, the statewide affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers, represents more than 36,000 members in 93 local affiliates throughout the Commonwealth, including teachers and school-related personnel, health care professionals, higher education faculty members and state employees.
Pennsylvania English Language Learners
With sections for parents, educators, and students, this site offers a variety of information about English language learners and ways to help them succeed. The site is also available in Spanish.
Pennsylvania State Education Association
Pennsylvania 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.
Pennsylvania State Parent Information Resource Centers
The purpose of Pennsylvania State PIRC is improving children's learning by informing, equipping and empowering parents to take a leading role in their children's learning at home and at school and making decisions about their children's educational options.
PennTESOL-East is a professional, non-profit association in eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and Delaware dedicated to the improvement and advancement of teaching English to speakers of other languages.
Three Rivers Teachers of Speakers of Other Languages (Three Rivers TESOL) serves the Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia area and is an affiliate of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages.
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. Pennsylvania Rate of EL Growth (1997/98-2007/08). Compiled July 2010 and retrieved from http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/t3sis/state/pennsylvania/data.
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