Multilingual Learners (ML) in GCPS

  • All multilingual learners in GCPS are supported, and translation services and resources are available upon request.
     

    Mission Statement

    To comply with the requirements of Title III in the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 ESSA (Title III Section 3001), the Multilingual Learners (ML)/Tiltle III Office of the Maryland State Department of Education works with the Garrett County Public Schools (GCPS) Office of Special Programs to ensure that GCPS establishes, implements, and sustains high-quality language instruction educational programs to meet the needs of our ML learners.
     

    Belief Statement

    Multilingual Learners (ML) students will meet the same challenging academic standards that are expected of all GCPS students while working to develop English language proficiency.
     
     

    The ML Identification Process

    Upon enrollment, school officials will ask the student’s parents/guardians if a language other than English is spoken in the home through the use of a Home Language Survey (HLS).
     
    A potential ML student is someone who may have been born outside of the United States and/or:
    • who communicates in a language other than English; or
    • whose family uses a primary language other than English in the home; and
    • whose English language proficiency falls within the range established by the State for an English language development program.
    However, just because another language is spoken in the home or regularly used in other settings, that is not an adequate basis for identifying a student as an ML. The Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR) provides the criteria of the Home Language Survey COMAR 13A.05.07.02 as well as the identifiers for a Multilingual Learner COMAR 13A.05.07.03.
     
     

    Student Eligibility

    A student’s eligibility for English-to-Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) services is based on the English Language Proficiency placement test. Garrett County Public Schools utilizes the WIDA Screener Paper to identify English learners within the school district. 
     
    Once identified, the parents/guardians of the ML student must be contacted for participation in the ESOL program:
    • No later than 30 days after the beginning of the school year for students who enter at the start of the school year
    • Within the first two weeks of a student being placed in such a program, if the student was not identified as an ML prior to the beginning of the school year.
    Also, The Guide to School for Families of English Learners is available for parents during the enrollment process. It is a reference handbook from the Maryland Department of Education to assist our ML families with understanding the school system. It offers suggestions about how to interact with school staff to support their child’s learning as well as provides information about Maryland public schools, including how to enroll a child in school, schools by grade levels, early childhood education, opportunities for parents, and much more.
     

    Parent Notification

    ESOL Placement: Parent Notification Letters must be sent to parents/guardians of ML students annually. This includes:
    • Newly identified ML students,
    • Students who are to continue participating in the Multilingual Learner program,
    • Students for whom services have been refused.
    Refusal of Placement in ESOL Program Letters must be sent annually to parents/guardians who indicate that they do not wish for their child to participate in the ESOL program.
     

    English Learner Assessments

    WIDA Assessments in Grades K-12
    WIDA provides the English language proficiency assessments administered for GCPS and all of Maryland. These assessments aid in:
    • program decisions,
    • identification of MLs, and
    • placement into an ML program.
    English language proficiency annual assessments are used to determine MLs’ current level of English capability.  All students identified as ML are required to participate in the annual assessment until exiting status is earned by scoring proficient (i.e., fluent).  The annual assessment is used for accountability purposes.
     
    WIDA English language proficiency placement assessments are designed to provide an initial measure of a student’s English language proficiency and test four domains:
    1. Listening,
    2. Reading,
    3. Writing, and
    4. Speaking.
    WIDA Screener:
    • The WIDA Screener is the English proficiency placement assessment for grades K through 12.
    • WIDA Screener test forms are divided into grade-level clusters:
      • kindergarden,
      • grade 1,
      • grades 2-3,
      • grades 4-5,
      • grades 6-8 and
      • grades 9-12.
    • Students entering grades 3, 6, and 9 during the first semester take the WIDA Screener for the grade they have just completed (e.g., 2, 5, or 8); if students are entering school during the second semester, take the WIDA Screener for their current grade level.
    English language proficiency annual assessments are required to be administered to MLs who have not yet scored proficient. The ACCESS for ELLs suite of assessments consists of assessments for MLs in kindergarten through grade 12. These assessments are administered annually to monitor ML students’ progress in acquiring academic English. WIDA  ACCESS assessments test four domains:
    1. Listening,
    2. Reading,
    3. Writing, and
    4. Speaking.
    Kindergarten ACCESS:
    • The Kindergarten ACCESS for MLs is the annual English language proficiency assessment for MLs in kindergarten.
    • This test is compiled of performance-based tasks for all four language domains. It is administered to students individually.
    ACCESS:
    • The ACCESS for MLs is the annual English language proficiency assessment for MLs in grades 1-12 and is divided into grade-level clusters.
    • The online test is semi-adaptive, meaning students will progress through the test based on their performance on previous items and domains.
    • ACCESS for MLs is given to all multilingual learners during the annual testing window, which typically takes place from early January through late February. This web-based program is administered over several testing sessions.

    Multilingual Learner Exit Criteria

    The following score must be earned on the ACCESS for ELLs (K-12) and Alternate ACCESS for ELLs (1-12) assessments for students to exit the ML program:
    • ACCESS for MLs: Overall composite proficiency level of 4.5 or above
    • Alternate ACCESS for MLs (1-12): Overall composite proficiency level of P2

    ML Program Enrollment

     
    GCPS MLs 2019 - 20 2020 - 21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24
    Elementary Total <1% <1% <1% <1% <1%
    Secondary Total <1% <1% <1% <1% <1%