LFDCS enrolls a student population that is 98.6% Hispanic. The overwhelming majority of students enrolling in kindergarten rank Spanish as their first or home language, necessitating a significant investment of personnel, resources and study in English Language Acquisition, particularly vocabulary development.
Staff provides vocabulary-rich instructional support enhanced by visuals to increase vocabulary, comprehension and confidence. LFDCS is committed to the dual-language priority of our school (see above) and the mandates of English proficiency from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).
Our program for English Language Learners (ELLs) is staffed by certified educators. Federal and state laws require that ELL students be assessed annually to measure their proficiency in reading, writing, listening and speaking English as well as the progress they are making in learning English.
In fulfillment of these laws, ELL students are required to participate in ACCESS testing, which is based on the WIDA (World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment) English Language Development standards. Our goal is to provide support as long as a student needs it, and only when a student reaches a proficient level of English is support discontinued.
LFDCS is in 100% compliance for all ESE ESL requirements.
Elaine Fuller
ESL/ELL Cordinator
SOME IMPORTANT LINKS
DESE page for English Language Learners: https://www.doe.mass.edu/ele/
The process of identifying ESL/ELL students at LFDCS: