Federal Programs

Program Content:

The Tennessee State Standards and the WIDA Standards guide the curriculum of the ESL program.  The curriculum is designed to meet the needs of students at each level of English proficiency, as evidenced on each student's Individualized Learning Plan (ILP), through:

• Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking
  
• One to one or small group instruction
  
• Daily instruction for credit ESL classes in high school
  
• Collaboration with classroom teachers
  
• Some General Education teachers are ESL certified 
  
• Suggested accommodations and modifications
  
• Materials and strategies according to student needs

Immigrant ELL Definition Title III

Federal Definition of an Immigrant Student  

The term "immigrant children and youth," which is defined in section 3301(6) of Title III, refers to individuals who: (A) are aged 3 through 21; (B) were not born in any State; and (C) have not been attending one or more schools in any one or more States for more than 3 full academic years.  

Federal Definition of a Limited English Proficient Student

 The term 'limited English proficient', when used with respect to an individual, means an individual—

(A) who is aged 3 through 21;

(B) who is enrolled or preparing to enroll in an elementary school or secondary school;

(C)(i) who was not born in the United States or whose native language is a language other than English;

(ii)(I) who is a Native American or Alaska Native, or a native resident of the outlying areas; and

(II) who comes from an environment where a language other than English has had a significant impact on the individual's level of English language proficiency; or

(iii) who is migratory, whose native language is a language other than English, and who comes from an environment where a language other than English is dominant; and

(D) whose difficulties in speaking, reading, writing, or understanding the English language may be sufficient to deny the individual—

(i) the ability to meet the State's proficient level of achievement on State assessments described in section 1111(b)(3);

(ii) the ability to successfully achieve in classrooms where the language of instruction is English; or

(iii) the opportunity to participate fully in society.TITLE III—LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION FOR LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENT AND IMMIGRANT STUDENTS

On the Tennessee Department of Education website at

http://www.tennessee.gov/education/accountability/middle_grades.shtml is a Parent Guide for preschool to high school. The guides inform parents at each grade level- what to expect from their children with school and academics, socially and emotionally, milestones and development, and provides answers to questions. It's a great tool for knowing where the children are developmentally and how to guide them at each grade level.  

Parents and educators can access the Tennessee Curriculum Standards at http://www.tennessee.gov/education/curriculum.shtml.

To access free curriculum training through a variety of podcasts produced by the TN Dept. of Education, go to the Tennessee Electronic Learning Center at https://tntel.info Click on the "Standards Aligned Podcasts" link. The user will need to download itunes in order to access the podcasts. The link will walk you through this process. The "Curriculum Resources" link and the "Educators Resources" link also provides a wealth of information.