ESL Program Profile
The current ESL program in Putnam City Schools is designed to meet and exceed the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). In addition to language instruction, it is organized to identify, assess, and serve all eligible students as required by the NCLB Act. Furthermore, proper procedures are established to document the learning progress of our English language learners. A monitoring system is in place to guarantee the success of the students who have exited the program up to two years after being proficient in English.
The ESL program encompasses all the research-based curricula, which are typically found in fully developed ESL instruction across the United States.
Personnel
Putnam City School District ESL teachers provide all students who have been identified as ELL students with appropriate English instruction. Currently, the district has 26 ESL teachers and five Hispanic bilingual assistants serving in all the 27 sites. The following is a breakdown of our 26 ESL teachers:
- 14 ESL teachers are certified in Spanish plus other subjects.
- Eight ESL teachers are native Spanish speakers with certification in ESL or other subjects.
- Five ESL teachers are certified in other languages such French and German.
- One out of the 26 ESL teachers is fluent in Vietnamese.
In addition to the 26 teachers, the district has five Hispanic bilingual assistants to help in schools. Additional interpretation and translation services are provided upon request.
It is to be noted that interpretation and translation services are not limited to the Spanish language. Putnam City Schools is committed to serving all our ELL students and parents irrespective of the language they speak.
Instruction
The current ESL program consists of the following models:
- Pull-out
- Pull-in or Push-in
- Class period
- Sheltered English
- ESL Summer Classes
ESL pull-out is being used in our elementary schools. Students spend most of the school day in a mainstream classroom, but are pulled out for approximately 40 minutes each day to receive instruction in English as a second language.
Pull-in or Push-in is being used in our elementary school settings as well. The ESL teacher goes into the regular classrooms to teach the ELL students. The content of the instruction is based on the objectives selected by the regular classroom teacher(s). The nature of the ESL instruction is content-based. In addition, the ESL teacher meets the same group of students for pull-out instruction.
ESL class period is used in the middle and high school settings. Students receive ESL instruction during a regular class period. They are grouped for ESL instruction according to their level of English proficiency.
Sheltered English is used to group language minority students from different language backgrounds together in classes where the ESL teacher is also certified in English. High school students may be given English credit for successful completion of Sheltered English classes.
The ESL summer classes are for ELL students with low English proficiency. It serves students from kindergarten through eleventh grades. The students receive ESL instruction in the following domains: Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing.
Additional Services
Currently, two Spanish speaking tutors are contracted to tutor Spanish speaking ELL students with learning disabilities.
In addition to the above services, the Putnam City School district recognizes the importance of language preservation. Therefore, we are now offering Spanish for Native Speakers. Very few districts in the state are taking this kind of initiative to help native Spanish speaking students.
Many other helpful services are being offered to the Hispanic student population and community. Included in those services:
- La Raza Club at Putnam City West High School
- Hispanic Students’ Assemblies
- Hispanic College Night at Putnam City West High School
- Parents' Night at Putnam City West High School
- College Visits
Teacher Training
In collaboration with the University of Oklahoma and the University of Central Oklahoma, we offer a free Master of Education degree in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESOL). This degree is to ensure that our teachers are highly qualified to teach our diverse student population.
In an effort to make all classrooms English language learners-friendly, we offer district-wide sheltered English training to ensure that all our teachers are trained in cross-cultural issues, second language acquisition, and lesson modification techniques. Additionally, we frequently bring in consultants to provide training in "Research-based Instructional Strategies for ELLs (RISE)."
To enhance teacher communication with our Hispanic parents, the district offers Spanish for Teachers classes.
Classes for Parents
Regarding our community, we offer English classes to parents of ELL students during school hours. We collaborate with other agencies to offer ESL classes after contract hours to all our community.
For More Information
Jean Lainé, ESL/World Languages Coordinator
Putnam City Schools
5401 NW 40th
Phone: (405) 495-5200 Ext. 1223
Email: jlaine@putnamciyschools.org