Amphitheater Public Schools

English Language Acquisition Program

Policies and Procedures

Identification

Enrollment: During the school registration process, parents/guardians complete the Home Language Survey (HLS). When any response on this survey indicates a language other than English, the Language Acquisition Department will research the student’s AZELLA (Arizona English Language Learner Assessment) testing history to determine their English learner (EL) status. This research will result in an appropriate course of action based on the following:   

• No testing history in Arizona (needs AZELLA Placement)
• A current less than Proficient test (needs parent consent and English Language Development/ELD services)
• An outdated less than Proficient test (needs AZELLA Placement)
• An initial test that was Proficient (no AZELLA/ELD services needed)
• A Proficient test that occurred less than 2 years ago (needs monitoring)

Initial Assessment

AZELLA Placement: The AZELLA is grade level appropriate and evaluates the student’s proficiency of English language skills. Proficiency levels include: Pre-Emergent/Emergent, Basic, Intermediate, and Proficient. The District must administer the AZELLA within 30 days for those students who enroll at the beginning of the school year or within 2 weeks of a student’s enrollment in school after the first 30 days. The score report will be sent home for each student.

Placement

Parental Notification and Consent: A score lower than Proficient qualifies the student for placement in an ELD program. A Parental Notification and Consent Form will be sent home, along with the school’s ELD program description. This will all happen within the first 30 days of each school year or within two weeks of the student registering during the school year, but after the first 30 days.  Parents can accept services or decline services. If the parent declines services, the student will not receive ELD instruction.

Parent Request for Student Withdrawal: Parents have the right to withdraw their child from ELD services. Prior to signing the form, a parent must have a conversation with the teacher and/or principal. If the parent still wishes to withdrawn their child from services, the parent is required to sign the form, Parent Request from an English Learner Program.  The student would then not receive ELD services. However, since the student still has an EL need they will reassessed annually at the end of each school year until the student is Proficient.    

ELD Program Description: All instruction in the ELD program is presented in English and incorporates the skill areas of listening, speaking, reading, grammar, and writing. The curriculum in all ELD classrooms is aligned with the Arizona English Language Proficiency (ELP) Standards, which correlate to the Arizona English Language Arts Standards. Depending on the number of English learners (ELs) at the school, program models may vary.

Reassessment/Reclassification

AZELLA Reassessment: All students who have an EL need (including Parent Withdrawn), will be reassessed annually during the Spring AZELLA Reassessment window. This occurs during February and March of each year. The Reassessment will determine the student’s placement for the following school year.

Two-Year Monitoring: Once the student tests Proficient on the AZELLA they are Reclassified as Fluent English Proficient (FEP) and removed from ELD services. During the first two years after reclassifying FEP, the student’s progress will be monitored to insure continued success.