Welcome to the official webpage of the South-Western City School District English Language Learner (ELL) program.
The South-Western City School District ELL program is the second largest in the State of Ohio, serving more than 2,200 students. Approximately 11% of our students are Limited English Proficient (LEP).
The purpose of the English Learner Program (EL) is to create an educational setting in which English Learners (ELs) can work toward English Language Proficiency (ELP) while being provided with opportunities for growth in all academic content, social and emotional areas. To promote academic growth, students are provided both language and content support which aids access to educational opportunities. Social and emotional growth are encouraged through providing experiences which foster a sense of acceptance and security in a new cultural setting while recognizing the importance of the native language and culture of the diverse learners found within the district.
The EL Department at South-Western City Schools is committed to the following three goals:
1. To ensure that English Learners attain English Proficiency
2. To integrate language and content instruction to develop high levels of academic competencies in the EL students
3. To prepare EL students to meet the same challenging content and student academic achievement standards that all children are expected to meet.
In the EL Program students are instructed in all domains of the English language - listening, speaking, reading and writing - with the goal of attaining sufficient proficiency in English to successfully participate in content classrooms and to demonstrate proficiency on all state assessments. A primary goal of the EL Program is to help support second language acquisition (SLA) that allows for ELs to be included in mainstream content classes at a developmentally appropriate time.
Support for staff who instruct ELs is another important component of the EL Program. The EL staff provides support to both TESOL and SIOP teachers by providing professional development opportunities, research-based strategies, and instructional resources for TESOL and SIOP teachers, as well as other support staff who interact on a regular basis with ELs.
The facilitation of multicultural awareness and acceptance of cultural diversity is a vital function of the EL Program in the context of an ever-increasing diverse and global community. In the EL Program, an environment is created in which differing cultural attitudes and values are accepted. Students are encouraged to retain positive attitudes toward their primary cultures while developing an awareness of the customs and traditions of their new settings. All students and staff are encouraged to develop an appreciation of cultural diversity through participation in multicultural experiences at the classroom, building and district levels.