ELL Classroom Observation: English Learners

I observed the ELL class on Friday October 11th, 2015. The observation was done at Strawberry Point School in the Mill Valley District for 30 minutes with three English Learners from Kindergarten, which one child is Danish and two children are Koreans. I spoke with Monica who is the person responsible for the ELL program at this school.

• What placement options are available to ELLs in the district? Do you think the placement options sufficiently meet the needs of ELLs in the district? Why or why not?

The Strawberry Point School has some placement available in the ELL program. Here what they have:

• Pull out – children are pull out of their classroom for 30 minutes around 3 days of the week.

• Push in – this program is for the Transition

Also, the ELL program is evaluated trough the year, which the ELL staff has monthly meeting to discuss on improvement or change in the program. I think the district has a good placement program because the district has a low number of English Learners. Most of the English Learners in the Mill Valley district are Koreans and Russians, which the district could have a huge impact in the ELL program next year, especially at the Strawberry point school. The reason of that is the Seminary Theology University located in the Strawberry neighborhood is closing and the majority of their population is Korean.

• What organizational structures at the school and classroom level provide support to ELLs? (e.g., pullout programs, instructional aides, grade level collaboration, cooperative grouping in the classroom). Do you think these organizational structures sufficiently meet the needs of ELLs in the classroom? Why or why

If so, what are the levels? Did the teacher know the reading CELDT level? Did the teacher modify the lesson based on the CELDT level of the student? Do you think the teacher had clear language objectives for the lesson?

The school finished to apply the CELDT in the end of October. They followed the law of 60 days after the school starts. Monica agreed that the way CELDT provides the scores are confusing and not clear, and the results can take forever to show up. She and the other ELL Aide made their own evaluation then they can work with the ELLD children right the way. Their evaluation sheets are based on the CELDT test, and it evaluates reading, writing, speaking and listening, and the general score. The school tested all levels in the entire district, and the Aides spent weeks doing these test around the district. Monica said she is advantage related to the other aide in the district because she stays in the Strawberry Point School the entire time, and then she have chances to talk with the classroom teachers, and share and collect information about the ELL children. She can give them extra material for the ELL students and hear from the classroom teacher what she should emphasis her lessons for specific groups. For example, the kindergarten kids that I observed are in the classroom that I used to work. I saw some extra work for the ELL students in their home folders (specific folder saying “ELL homework”). The