ELL Department Program Aims

As a school we aim to: 

• Provide opportunities for students to develop social and academic language so they can become confident communicators in our connecting language: English.

• Collaborate to support students’ language acquisition in all domains of language (reading, writing, speaking, listening).

• Create an emotionally safe environment that respects different cultures and encourages students to take risks with their language learning.

• Scaffold learning and differentiate instruction to ensure all students can access the curriculum and achieve academic success.

• Recognize all teachers as language teachers and provide ongoing professional development to support them.

• Involve families as essential partners in the process of developing students’ English language, as well as their home language.

What are the languages of instruction at KISJ?

How are KISJ ELL Services structured?

Teachers use Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) strategies in all classrooms to ensure that students are accessing the  curriculum. SIOP is a research-based and validated instructional model using instructional strategies to design and deliver lessons across grades and content areas that address the academic and linguistic needs of English language learners at different English proficiency levels.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

The Elementary School  integrated approach to ELL includes:

(1) Language support embedded into Reading and Writing Workshop

• The classroom teacher and ELL specialist co-plan and co-teach Reading and/or Writing Workshop.

• Students develop skills through literacy centers, small groups, Leveled Literacy Intervention (LLI), and direct instruction.

• During co-taught classes, both teachers support students by lowering teacher-student ratios, monitoring student progress, and sharing resources.

(2) In-class support is provided by the classroom teacher in the form of Sheltered Instruction (SIOP)

• SIOP provides our teachers the tools they need to integrate strategies that benefit our multilingual learners. This facilitates the acquisition of English language while students learn new content.

• The ELL specialist (one per grade 1-5) and grade level team have shared planning time available to co-plan other subjects

MIDDLE SCHOOL

The Middle School  integrated approach to ELL includes:

(1) Language support embedded into Reading and Writing Workshop

• The content teacher and ELL specialist co-plan and co-teach English Language Arts (ELA) class
• Appropriate language scaffolding and accommodations are provided within the Reading and Writing Workshop models.
• Students develop skills through one-on-one conferencing, strategy groups, and guided reading.
• During co-taught classes, teachers support students by lowering teacher-student ratios, monitoring student progress, and sharing resources.
  

(2) In-class support is provided by the classroom teacher in the form of Sheltered Instruction (SIOP)

• SIOP provides our teachers the tools they need to integrate strategies that benefit our multilingual learners. This facilitates the acquisition of English language while students learn new content.

• The ELL specialist (one per grade 6-8) and grade level team have shared planning time available to co-plan subjects with a focus on integrating language within content.

(3) Language support during KIS Reads/Academic Support time

• ELL specialists lead Leveled Literacy Intervention (LLI) groups which focus on accelerating students’ reading and writing.

HIGH SCHOOL

The High School content and language integrated approach includes:   (1) English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course : Focus on developing the four domains of language: reading, writing, listening, and speaking within an academic context. An emphasis is placed on reading comprehension, grammar, writing, academic vocabulary, and developing study skills.   (2) In-class support is provided by the classroom teacher in the form of Sheltered Instruction (SIOP)   (3) Grade 9 Writing Lab All students take this year-long course in Grade 9 which covers the necessary skills for writing tasks in Grade 9 and beyond (narrative, literary analysis, informational, and argumentative writing).

How do we collaborate to support language learners at KISJ?

At KISJ we take a collaborative approach to supporting our language learners, where all faculty members have a shared responsibility to support our students’ language development with the idea that we are all teachers of language. Faculty also collaborate to create emotionally safe classroom environments in which all students can have confidence to take risks with their learning within our content and language integrated learning model. 

KISJ has a team of dedicated ELL specialists who collaborate with other teachers to co-plan, co-teach, co-assess, and co-reflect in order to support the needs of our language learners across all domains of language (listening, speaking, reading, and writing). Boarding staff support students living in the Middle/High School dorms by creating opportunities for students to use English outside the classroom. The Student Support Team (Learning Support, ELL specialists, counselors, class teachers, and administrators) collaborate to support transitions of students to new grade levels. Faculty communicate frequently with families on how to support their child’s language development at home, while using their home language as an asset to deepen understanding of content.