Secondary Newcomer Programs in the U.S.

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Newcomer Centers, Merrill Middle School
Program Address:
1551 S. Monroe St.
Denver, CO 80210
Phone: (720) 424-0600
Fax: (720) 424-0625
patricia_engler@dpsk12.org
Contact Person:
Patricia Engler
Teacher- Newcomer Program

  • Program Information
    • Information provided for school year: 2010-2011
      Year Program Started: 1998
      School/Grade Levels: Middle school site(s)
      Program Description:
      The Newcomer Centers are part of the English Language Acquisition (ELA) Program. They are designed for eligible middle and high school students who are new to Denver Public Schools. The middle school Newcomer Center is located at Merrill Middle School. (There is another center for grades 9-12 at South High School.) The center serves the English language learners identified as having limited or interrupted education as well as minimal literacy skills in both their native language and English. Students in the Newcomer Centers are served for one or two trimesters to prepare them for participation in an English as a Second Language (ELA-E) program. There is some flexibility in length of time they remain in the program. Newcomer Center students receive English instruction that focuses on listening, speaking, reading, and writing improvement with low student-adult ratios and state-of-the-art computer systems. Intensive English language development instruction may be supported in Spanish or other native languages as appropriate and available.
      Newcomer Student Definition:
      A newcomer student has a history of interrupted or limited formal education, minimal literacy in his/her native language, and is new to English. The newcomer has been enrolled in a school in the U.S for two or fewer semesters. Our newcomers are aged 11 years or older on or before Sept 15 of the school year.
      Aspects of Program Working Well:
      The following aspects are working well: 1) Caring teachers involved; they take personal interest in the growth and development of the students. 2) The progress the students make in a short time due to all the strategies the teachers implement. 3) The small class size which helps meet the needs of the students and allows for flexibility in instruction which in turn meets the needs of the students. 4) The support of the paraprofessionals who are from some of the same countries as the students.
      Type of Language Program: ESL
      Type of Community: Urban/metropolitan
      How Families Learn of Program: From housing services for refugees, refugee sponsors, the school district application, African Community Center, Lutheran Family services, other refugee organizations
      Students Assigned From:
      • More than one school
      Name(s) of the Home School(s): Merrill Middle School
      Funding Sources:
      • Federal: Title III
      • District
      • Private: grants
       Other District Language Support Programs: Level one ESL, and ELA classrooms
  • Program Design Features
    • Program Location:
      • Program-within-a-school
       Length of Day:
      • Full-day Program
       Length of Program:
      • Other: Two trimesters or more if needed
       Average Length of stay: 36 week(s)
      Maximum Length of stay: 36 week(s)
      Average Class Size: 18 student(s)
      Entry Criteria: Little to no English, little to no education or interrupted education, possibly illiterate in native language
  • Newcomer Student Demographics
    • Number of Newcomer Students in Program: 29
      Age Range of Students: 11-14
      Number of Countries Represented: 5
      Most Common Countries:
      • Somalia
      • Burma
      • Thailand
      • Liberia
      • Dem. Rep. of Congo
       Number of Non-English Languages Represented: 5
      Most Common Student Languages:
      • Burmese
      • Karen
      • Somali
      • Arabic
      • French
       Percentage of Students with Interrupted Formal Schooling: 100%
      Percentage of Students with Free or Reduced Lunch: 100%
  • Instruction
    • Languages Used for Instruction: English
      Courses Provided by the Newcomer Program:
      • Sheltered content in English
        • math
        • science
        • social studies
        • language arts
        • health
        • other: Social skills for American schools, Electives
      • ESL or English language development
      • Cross-cultural/orientation to the United States
      • Reading intervention
      • Other courses: Art Therapy, group counseling
      Typical Newcomer Student Schedule: Daily: Language Arts 2 blocks, Math 2 blocks, Science or Social Studies, Electives (2 per trimester such as art, music, computer, English conversation). Once a week: Art Therapy, group counseling, social skills, and library.
      Literacy Development Practices: Phonics, phonemic awareness, reading strategies, picture walks/talks, book orientation, voice print match, Readers and Writers workshop format, picture clues, labeled room, thematic units, tactile letter activities when needed
      Literacy Materials Used: Reading A to Z, picture dictionaries (some in native language), trade books, picture cards, Daily Language Review (Even More), Building Spelling (Even More), Modern Curriculum Phonics, various language books with pictures, word walls, and more
      High School Courses Receiving Core Credit: N/A
      High School Courses Receiving Elective Credit: N/A
      Credit Recovery or Online Learning Courses: N/A
      Additional Learning Opportunities: There are after school activities open to newcomer students. There is a Muslim school and some summer programs in the community.
      Ancillary Services Offered Students:
      • Title I
      • Special Education
      • Gifted and talented
      • Health (physical)
      • Health (mental)
      • Career counseling
      • Tutoring
       5- or 6- Year Program Available for High School Newcomer Students: N/A
  • Assessment and Evaluation
    • Placement Measures
      Reading:
      DRA (Direct Reading Assessment), alphabet in scrambled upper and lower case for letter recognition, Dolch word lists
      English language proficiency:
      Basic introduction to conversation/communication responses
      Content:
      Math - basic addition, subtraction, multiplication problems
      Progress Measures
      Reading:
      DRA (Direct Reading Assessment); A to Z book assessments; Teacher observation
      English language proficiency:
      Teacher observations, CELA (Colorado English Language Assessment)
      Content:
      Teacher-made tests or activities, teacher observation
      Achievement Measures
      State standards tests:
      Yes, 8th graders take the CSAP (Colorado State Assessment Program) in mathematics, reading language arts, and science. All students take the CSAP test in math and language arts. Only 8th graders have a science component.
      Other assessments:
      Social behavior growth observations, participation in life experience/subject related field trips, participation in class activities
      Program Evaluation: We evaluate mainly through reflection of what works and what doesn't, and decide how to improve. We look at new products that may be more appropriate for Newcomer level students.
  • Student Transition and Monitoring
    • Type of Program Students Exit Into:
      • ESL
       Exit Criteria: The Newcomer teachers determine when the students are ready to move to level one. The students in level one are exited by an ISA team that looks at several criteria: CELA scores, teacher recommendations, student work samples, CSAP scores, reading levels, and ELD profile. 6th and 7th graders exit and remain at Merrill, entering ELA 1. 8th graders exit and go to South High for ELA 1. Some 8th graders who arrive late in the year may go to the newcomer program at South High in 9th grade.
      Measures to Facilitate Student Transition Out of the Newcomer Program: They attend electives with mainstream students. If a student is progressing in math, we can place him or her in a level one math class. When they exit to level one, they are still welcome to receive support from the NC teachers. (We usually keep an eye on our kids as they move along.) They also attend social activities with mainstream students.
      There is a field trip to the high school for 8th graders, then the high school has their own program for assisting the transition at high school.
  • Program Staffing and Professional Development
    • Total Number of Program Administrators: 0
      Full Time in Newcomer Program: 0
      Total Number of Teachers: 2
      Full Time in Newcomer Program: 2
      Criteria to Teach in Newcomer Program: They need to have 150 hours of ELA training. An elementary education background is very helpful.
      Total Number of Paraprofessionals: 6
      Total Number of Resource Teachers: 0
      Total Number of Guidance Counselors for School: 3
      Social Worker/Family Liaison: No
      Guidance Counselors for Program: No
      Total Number of Staff Who Speak in One of the Student Native Languages: 8
      Languages that Staff Speak in Addition to English: Spanish, Chinese, Somali, Russian, Karen, Arabic, French
      Professional Development Topics for Teachers and Staff: Best practices, cultural differences, assessment
  • Connecting Families and Social Capital Networks
    • School Services Offered to Parents and Families:
      • Parent outreach
      • Orientation to USA
      • Orientation to US schools
      • Native language literacy courses
      • Adult basic education
      • GED
      • Information sharing with community organizations
      Newcomer Program Partnerships:
      Yes, with African Community Center (ACC) programs in and out of school. The ACC also has parent classes. Lutheran Family Services supports with housing, health, and orientation to the U.S. Jewish Family services supports with social emotional well-being in and out of school. Colorado Department of Human Services, Division of Refugee Services helps with specific refugee related concerns, new grant program with Community Navigators.
      Social Services for Families:
      All the above, either through school or through partnerships with school and community
      Methods to Inform Families of Services Available:
      Via the aforementioned organizations and program outreach by newcomer staff
      Methods to Inform Service Agencies of Newcomer Program:
      Ongoing relationship with the teachers in the Newcomer Program, phone calls, emails, in-service, meetings, and the like