English Learners

A newcomer student is a recent immigrant to the U.S. who has little or no English proficiency and is in their first 12 months of attending school in the U.S. They may have varying levels of preparedness in their native language, with some being on grade level and others below. They may arrive with different levels of transferable credits or no transcript records. Newcomer students make steady progress through an English Language Development (ELD) sequence and may benefit from special orientation and transitional classes. They may be part of a newcomer class or program that offers high quality literacy-focused ELD curriculum. Newcomer students may spend an extended time in a five or six-year high school program and may have access to home language academic content classes. Instruction for newcomer students includes learning how English works and becoming proficient in using it, as well as direct instruction for language to access and comprehend information and to participate in activities, tasks, and processes of learning. Newcomer students also face a cultural transition as they adjust to life in a new country.

Newcomer students can be further classified as Well Educated Newcomers and Underschooled Newcomers.
Well Educated: an individual who has recently immigrated to the U.S. and is within their first year of attending school, typically with excellent schooling in their native country, strong literacy skills in their home language, and a fast progression through English language development programs. These students often excel academically, have high motivation, and are on track to graduate in four years. It is important to provide appropriate support and resources for these students, including avoiding placing them in classes that repeat content they already know, offering high-level academic courses in their home language, and providing instruction to improve their English skills within the context of academic content.

Underschooled/SLIFE (student with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education): An underschooled newcomer student is a student who has been in the U.S. for several years or less and has little to no English language proficiency or literacy in their native language. They may have had interrupted, inadequate, or no schooling in their native country, leading to being three or more years below grade level in math. They may struggle in academic content classes, have slow acquisition of English, and lack credit accrual over time. These students require an intense focus on English, extended time in high school, age-appropriate curriculum with content support, additional content support as needed, special orientation and transitional support, social/emotional support, and deliberate instruction within the context of content to learn how English works and become proficient in using it. They also need direct instruction for language to access and comprehend information, as well as to participate in activities, tasks, and processes of learning.

An At Risk student of becoming Long Term English Learner (LTEL) is a student who has been enrolled in US schools for 4 or five years, scored at Level 1 or 2 on a language proficiency test, and in grades 4 to 9 scored at the “Standard Not Met” level on the prior year CAASPP-ELA. These students may struggle with areas such as motivation and engagement, academic language, rigor, study skills and goal setting. They may also benefit from deliberate instruction within the context of content to learn how English works and become proficient in using it, as well as direct instruction for language to access/comprehend and participate in activities, tasks, and processes of learning.

A long-term English learner is a student who has been enrolled in US schools for six or more years (grades 6-12) and has either remained at the same language proficiency level for 2 or more consecutive prior years, or has regressed to a lower English language proficiency level. These students typically score at the "Standard Not Met" level on the prior year CAASPP-ELA test, are usually orally fluent in English, but struggle with reading and writing below the level of their native English-speaking peers. They may also have a bi-modal academic performance, with some excelling and others struggling.

Some long-term English learners may have literacy in their primary language, while others do not, and may have been in bilingual programs or not. There is often a mismatch between the student's perception of their academic achievement and their actual grades or test scores, as well as a mismatch between their perception of their language abilities and reality.

To support long-term English learners, it is important to focus on motivation and engagement, academic language development, rigor, study skills, goal setting, and maximizing graduation credits and A-G requirements. These students may benefit from a specific program or class for long-term English learners, as well as deliberate instruction within the context of content to learn how English works and become proficient in using it. Direct instruction for language to access/comprehend and to participate in activities, tasks, and processes of learning is also essential for these students.
 

A Redesignated Fluent English Proficient (RFEP) student is a student who originally entered U.S. schools classified as an English Learner, but has since been reclassified as fully English proficient. Despite being fluent in English, RFEP students are allowed to receive English Learner supports and services as needed and must continue to be monitored for 4 years to ensure they are participating meaningfully in the standard instructional program at a level comparable to their peers who were never classified as English Learners.

A struggling RFEP (Re-designated Fully English Proficient) is a student who was once limited in English proficiency but has been re-designated as fully proficient. However, they are currently receiving at least one D or F in core academic classes and have experienced a decline in grades and achievement since re-designation. To support this student, interventions may focus on improving reading fluency through academic vocabulary, encouraging regular participation in academic conversations, ensuring they understand graduation credits and A-G requirements, providing deliberate instruction on how English works in the context of content, offering direct instruction to access and comprehend language, and teaching language skills to actively participate in learning activities, tasks, and processes.

Once a student has been reclassified, the student can’t go back to being an EL. However, an RFEP student may receive any EL supports and services as needed.
 

The San Diego County Office of Education has created this website as a resource to further assist local educational agencies' journeys in implementing the California Department of Education’s English Learner Roadmap.

The Discussion Cards consist of powerful questions organized by subject area to get students thinking and talking about text. They are designed to be used with any text that students read, listen to, or view in order to learn how to build knowledge of the field of study. 

Discussion Cards Page

The ELD standards, ELD video series, information, and resources to assist local educational agencies design, implement, and enhance integrated and designated ELD instruction for students learning English. View the ELD standards.

The State Board of Education adopted the English Language Arts / English Language Development (ELA / ELD) Framework at their July 9, 2014, meeting. This is the final, edited digital version of the ELA / ELD Framework, published July 2015.

This toolkit provides a collection of effective protocols for student interaction and collaboration embedded in and connected with strategies and tasks for each of the three modes of communication (Collaborative or Interpersonal, Interpretive, and Productive or Presentational).   

Oracy Toolkit Page

Curricular resources, instructional strategies, assessment tools, and professional learning opportunities to support ELD instruction for classroom teachers and TOSAS.

• View comprehensive ELD resources for LEAs on Padlet
• Latinx Education Achievement Report / Informe del Progreso de la Educación Latinx

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