Secondary Newcomer Programs in the U.S.

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Walled Lake Central High School
Program Address:
1600 Oakley Park Road
Walled Lake, MI 48390
Phone: (248) 956-4792
Fax: (248) 363-8306
sandrahagman@wlcsd.org
Contact Person:
Sandra Hagman
ESL/Social Studies Teacher
836 S. Williams Lake Road, White Lake MI 48386
(248) 892-1945
sandrahagman@cs.com

  • Program Information
    • Information provided for school year: 2010-2011
      Year Program Started: 2005
      School/Grade Levels: High school site(s)
      Program Description:
      Although the ESL/bilingual program was in place in the district prior to 2005, it has been expanded with reconfiguration of course offerings in the past 4 years. This is a full-day, program-within-a-school at Walled Lake Central High. The same program is offered at Walled Lake Western High too, another comprehensive high school in the district. In addition to offering intensive ESL courses, the program seeks to remediate/accelerate the students’ academic skills for content area subjects. Sheltered content classes are taught by certified "highly qualified" teachers, so students earn core content credit parallel to the same courses taught in the general education program. We have a summer school program available too which is tuition-based with some scholarships available. Most students remain in the program for two semesters, but others may remain for up to four semesters. Note: The responses provided in this survey reflect Walled Lake Central High- although we have much in common with the other high school.
      Newcomer Student Definition:
      Our newcomer students lack proficiency in English and need orientation to U.S. schooling. The majority of the newcomers are refugee/immigrant students from Iraq with interrupted schooling. At the other end of the newcomer range are Japanese children from expatriate families who have beginning-level English skills and who need orientation, additional English skills, and some time for successful transition for participation in general education content classes.
      Aspects of Program Working Well:
      The extent, quality, and rigor of our program is recognized and respected within the building by colleagues and administrators.
      Type of Language Program: ESL
      Type of Community: Suburban
      How Families Learn of Program: Students are identified when they enroll in the district.
      Students Assigned From:
      • One school
       Funding Sources:
      • Federal: Title III
      • State: Section 41 of MI School Code (bilingual language program)
      • District: General Fund
      • Tuition: Summer school is tuition-based, with some scholarships available.
      Other District Language Support Programs: We have a 5-level ESL program as well as sheltered social studies, science, and math classes.
  • Program Design Features
    • Program Location:
      • Program-within-a-school
       Length of Day:
      • Full-day Program
      • After-school program: 3 hour(s)
       Length of Program:
      • Summer program: 4 week(s)
      • More than 1-year program: 4 semester(s)
       Average Length of stay: 2 semester(s)
      Maximum Length of stay: 4 semester(s)
      Average Class Size: 10 student(s)
      Entry Criteria: Evaluation of prior schooling; assessment of English language skills; evaluation of the likelihood of success in general education classes
  • Newcomer Student Demographics
    • Number of Newcomer Students in Program: 12
      Age Range of Students: 14-17
      Number of Countries Represented: 2
      Most Common Countries:
      • Iraq
      • Mexico
       Number of Non-English Languages Represented: 2
      Most Common Student Languages:
      • Arabic
      • Spanish
       Percentage of Students with Interrupted Formal Schooling: 50%
      Percentage of Students with Free or Reduced Lunch: 100%
  • Instruction
    • Languages Used for Instruction: English with paraprofessional support in Arabic
      Courses Provided by the Newcomer Program:
      • Sheltered content in English
        • math
        • science
        • social studies
      • ESL or English language development
      • Cross-cultural/orientation to the United States
      • School/study skills
      Typical Newcomer Student Schedule: 6 of 7 periods: ESL Reading (reading & vocabulary); ESL Language Development (grammar & writing); ESL social studies skills; ESL science skills; sheltered Pre-Algebra; math remediation online with PLATO; elective class - usually PE or Art
      Literacy Development Practices: Small group ESL instruction. Oral language development. Intensive and extensive reading development. Bilingual (Arabic) support in L1.
      Literacy Materials Used: Various ESL materials appropriate for newcomers. Classroom library for extensive reading. Rosetta Stone. Content-based materials at appropriate reading levels.
      High School Courses Receiving Core Credit: Sheltered content classes
      High School Courses Receiving Elective Credit: ESL Intro and ESL 1 courses; content study skills and support classes
      Credit Recovery or Online Learning Courses: Yes, but the language level is beyond their ability to comprehend while they are newcomers.
      Additional Learning Opportunities: We have recently begun offering two days of after-school tutoring (1.5 hours each day) through a refugee grant provided by our intermediate school district (a regional educational service agency). This time is open to all refugee students, and some are in higher levels of ESL.
      Ancillary Services Offered Students:
      • Title I
      • Special Education
      • Career counseling
      • Tutoring
       5- or 6- Year Program Available for High School Newcomer Students: Michigan allows students 5 years to graduate if there is a feasible plan to accomplish this before the student turns 21 years of age. A sixth year is also possible if requested and if the student can graduate as a result.
  • Assessment and Evaluation
    • Placement Measures
      Reading:
      Required Michigan ELPA test. Evaluation of L1 literacy.
      English language proficiency:
      Required Michigan ELPA test. Student interview. L1 writing sample. English writing sample.
      Content:
      Family and student interview regarding prior schooling. Math skills placement test that primarily looks at math functions; no story problems. Student review of math and science textbooks to "match" previous learning.
      Progress Measures
      Reading:
      Multiple measures, including ELPA
      English language proficiency:
      Multiple measures, including ELPA
      Content:
      Classroom assessment. Students at this ELP level are exempt from district "benchmark" assessments in core content areas.
      Achievement Measures
      State standards tests:
      They take all according to grade level, except for a one-year exemption for English Language Arts. In Michigan 9th grade students take a required social studies MEAP test. The test is available in Arabic and Spanish translations, but the content is beyond the experience of ELL newcomers. The 11th grade students must take the ACT and ACT Work Keys in addition to other subjects tests. However, most newcomers do not arrive as 11th graders, so they have a couple of years to prepare.
      Other assessments:
      Observation and teacher recommendations
      Program Evaluation: Student progress from level to level in ESL and eventual transition to general education; observation of success in student transition through the sequence of sheltered content classes to authentic participation in courses throughout the curriculum; retention and graduation rates.
  • Student Transition and Monitoring
    • Type of Program Students Exit Into:
      • ESL
       Exit Criteria: The newcomers advance to the next level of ESL and sheltered content courses. It's not really like "exiting" from one program to another.
      Measures to Facilitate Student Transition Out of the Newcomer Program: Most of the newcomers stay at the same high school as they move up to the next level of ESL and sheltered content courses. We have a program pathway for them to receive appropriate courses and credits for graduation.
      ESL teachers and paraprofessionals. (We still have these students in classes at the next level.) Also, we collaborate with school counselors regarding course recommendations and scheduling.
  • Program Staffing and Professional Development
    • Total Number of Program Administrators: 0
      Full Time in Newcomer Program:
      Total Number of Teachers: 3
      Full Time in Newcomer Program: 1
      Criteria to Teach in Newcomer Program: ESL endorsement and content (social studies)
      Total Number of Paraprofessionals: 2
      Total Number of Resource Teachers: 0
      Total Number of Guidance Counselors for School: 5
      Social Worker/Family Liaison: Yes. District level liaison for K-12 supports Iraqi families. This is a new position, so responsibilities are evolving.
      Guidance Counselors for Program: No
      Total Number of Staff Who Speak in One of the Student Native Languages: 3
      Languages that Staff Speak in Addition to English: Japanese, Arabic, Chaldean
      Professional Development Topics for Teachers and Staff: A very wide range of topics on instruction, materials, program development, NCLB requirements, testing, budget, kid-specific issues. Most of us participate in county/intermediate school district PD. Some teachers attend MITESOL or MABE state conferences - and maybe TESOL or NABE.
  • Connecting Families and Social Capital Networks
    • School Services Offered to Parents and Families:
      • Parent outreach
      • Orientation to USA
      • GED
      • Information sharing with community organizations
      Newcomer Program Partnerships:
      These contacts are made at the district or school level - not necessarily specific to the newcomer families. There is a new bilingual community liaison person specifically charged with making connections to and for Iraqi refugees.
      Social Services for Families:
      Networks of social services and organizations are in place for the Arab, Chaldean, and Latino communities in our metropolitan area.
      Methods to Inform Families of Services Available:
      Most families have family connections in the area. The settled immigrants often inform the new families. The liaison and social service agencies reach out to families.
      Methods to Inform Service Agencies of Newcomer Program:
      We have a community liaison employed by the district who informs the Iraqi refugee families and a tradition of regular communication with the agencies and churches helping our Iraqi and Hispanic populations.