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At Excel Elementary, we strive to have our students not only meet the standards but to excel. We believe in a progressive schooling system that constantly adapts to what research says is best for our students. We believe that our new dual language program will encourage our students to excel both in their academic aspects as well as their new cultural and linguistic skills.

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Greater cultural awareness

More marketable

Higher attendance rates and fewer drop-outs

Dual language students perform just as well (if not better) as English-only students on standardized tests

Georgia State University. (n.d.). Benefits of Bilingualism and Dual Language Immersion Programs. Retrieved March 6, 2019, from https://cultr.gsu.edu/benefits-of-bilingualism/

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At Excel Elementary, we strive to have our students not only meet the standards but to excel. We believe in a progressive schooling system that constantly adapts to what research says is best for our students.

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We plan on adding the Dual Language Program to our school starting in Kindergarten and First grade in the fall of 2020, Second Grade fall 2021, Third Grade fall 2022, and continue adding the program as the first group to go through the program moves to the next grade.

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We hope that we can have this program follow them throughout the district into their middle school and high school years. We hope that we have parents who speak Spanish and English in the community to get certified to become teacher aids and certified to speak Spanish in the classroom.

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Our program will be a total immersion model because research has shown that this is the most effective model. Soltero’s (2016) textbook, Dual Language Education Program Design and Implementation stated that “ total immersion models are more effective in developing higher levels of LOTE proficiency and cross-cultural competencies” (p. 39). The students will then be able to learn from each other and grasp a complete understanding of all of the information.

The language allocation will start off as a 90-10 (90% Spanish - 10% English) and work its way towards a 50-50 by the fourth grade.

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Our program will have a self-contained classroom. This is the most cost-effective method for a total immersion program. There will be one bilingual teacher who teaches the students in both English and in Spanish.

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We believe that our new dual language program will encourage our students to excel both in their academic aspects as well as their new cultural and linguistic skills. Adding this program will enrich our students and create a community of more rounded students.

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This website is all about helping to plan a professional development about academic language. This could help for planning in that teachers who are more knowledgeable about dual language will have a more successful program for years to come.

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Anonymous. (2015, November 10). Common Core and ELLs: Planning Professional Development About Academic Language (Part 2). Retrieved March 6, 2019, from http://www.colorincolorado.org/blog/common-core-and-ells-planning-professional-development-about-academic-language-part-2

http://www.colorincolorado.org/ell-program-planning : This website has multiple resources to help with deciding a program of instruction, placement and identification of ELLs and it has the English Language Proficiency Standards.

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Illinois State University

All of the dual languages teachers in our programs got their undergraduate degree from ISU, so they reached out to show their continued support in the success of our dual language program.

Georgia State University

This university provided our school with a lot of information and resources at the beginning of our program, so we decided partnering with them will help ensure the success of our program throughout.

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Dual language programs are more effective in aiding students with second language acquisition than traditional language learning programs.

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Greater cognitive flexibility

Increased attention and memory

Greater problem-solving skills

Enhanced understanding of L1

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What are other schools that have dual language programs?

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What are other schools that have dual language programs?

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Wheeling, Il and Elgin, IL have multiple schools in their district with dual language programs that are excelling

Wheeling- https://ccsd21.org/curriculum-learning/dual-language/

Elgin- https://www.u-46.org/domain/5417

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At Excel Elementary, we hold our teachers accountable to have open communication with the parents. This can be on a weekly basis and any other times that are necessary.  Teachers will decide on their own if they will be sending out letters, making phone calls, home visits, and whatever else they choose to do, but communication to the parents is expected in at least one form.
Parents will also have the opportunity to volunteer in a variety of ways, the teachers will send home a volunteer sheet where parents can sign up for a variety of opportunities.

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Luckily for us parents the school plans on having a parent club with regular meetings about our children's studies. "We plan on having a parent-student club where the parents of the dual language students can show up to a monthly meeting to be informed of the program and the general progress of the students. The parents will also have a chance to voice their opinions and ideas about the program. These ideas will be taken into account in the planning and continuation of the program."

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Become a Teacher Aid!
Excel Elementary is looking for parents, both English and Spanish speaking parents to become teacher aids full and part-time. The school is looking for people already qualified and parents who are willing to attend one of the Universities and maybe a community college that the school is partnering with to a to a program for teacher aid. Excel Elementary will even pay for you to take the Spanish bi-literacy test for parents that are interested.

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The students in our program are split where 50% of them speak English as their native language and 50% of them speak Spanish as their native language. Our school community has a low mobility rate. This is important to know so that we can ensure that the program will have enough students throughout its entirety

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Excell Elementary has plans to bring in a NABE  consultant to give specific training on program development, implementation, and evaluation.

Optional “On-site” training with NABE PD Program.

Culturally-relevant learning and instruction

Biliteracy transfers

Content journals

Reading and writing across the curriculum

Cooperative learning

NABE workshops

Three-day intensive training and two-day supplemental training

NABE Dual Language Professional Development. (n.d.). About the Professional Development Program. Retrieved March 6, 2019, from http://nabe-duallanguagepd.com/about-the-professional-development-program.html

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You can sign up on the schools website under the tab programs.
There will also be an information table set up during registration and orientation where information will be given and interested parents can sign their child up.
There will also be a yearly newsletter sent to parents of incoming Kindergartners with information.

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Reach out to veteran teachers around the area

Offer teachers a “new and exciting opportunity to help create the culture of the school”

Look at universities for teaching students who are about to graduate who has trained with English language learners

Teachers and administrators continue to attend professional development meetings and communicate with staff and community members to see what is working with the program and what is not, and modify the program from that information.

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1. Throughout the educational experience at Excel Elementary, students will experience all subjects in both Spanish and English.

2. Since we are beginning the program in kindergarten the first year, these students will begin instruction in 90% Spanish, 10%  English instruction. We will be instructing kindergarten in English only in their English Language Arts portion of the day which is approximately 45 minutes long.

3. The following year, when we begin dual language in second grade, instruction will be 20% English and 80% Spanish. These students will begin learning mathematics and English language arts in English and everything else in Spanish. The English portion of the first grader’s day will be approximately one hour and thirty minutes.

4. In second grade, students instruction in English will be 30%, and Spanish will be 70%.

5. Curricular planning will be done across grade levels and in grade level teams. During the first year of implementation, Kindergarten and first grade teachers will meet bi-weekly to discuss how the program is going and what improvements should be made. Bi-weekly meetings will continue across grade levels as the years move on. Grade level teams will meet weekly throughout the year to directly address the content and specific objectives for their grades.

6. Instructional materials will be selected by the grade level teams. The Dual Language Leadership Team will make sure adequate materials are available per language allocation in each grade.

7. Extra-curricular activities will be encouraged throughout the school. The art and PE teacher will be in charge of different after-school programs for the students.

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Common Core State Standards, WIDA Standards, Content Standards- (science, social studies, art/PE), Next Generation Science Standards, Illinois Social Science Standards.

The school would provide Informal and Formal assessments, discourse throughout the unit, and authentic assessments. This will help us have a better understanding to see if the students are actually understanding the content. In terms of standardized assessments, the ACCESS test will be given to the students to show their ELL Progression. The PARCC test will be given to all students to determine their academic content abilities. Finally, The LAS-O (Language Assessment Scales- Oral) and the LAS-R/W (Language Assessment Scales- Reading and Writing) will be given to assess the students’ Spanish abilities. This test was created by McGraw Hill.

Sugarman, J., Arteagoitia, I., Coburn, C., Galagher, C., Montee, M., & Schissel, J. (n.d.). Spanish-Language Assessments for Dual Language Programs. Retrieved March 11, 2019, from http://www.cal.org/twi/assessment.htm

The school will make sure the teachers in the school understand the program and are able to teach the curriculum. Yearly school reports and periodic reviews will be in place to assess the dual language program.

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My family only speaks English at home, will they succeed with 90% of the class is taught in Spanish?

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My family only speaks English at home, will they succeed with 90% of the class is taught in Spanish?

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Students tend to pick up the language quickly. 90% Spanish is only for the first year, it will eventually move to be 50-50 in both languages. The students show better scores in all content areas and become fluent in both language, regardless of which language is spoken at home.