About Us

ENGLISH LEARNER SERVICES Overview

The English Learner Services is a facility which provides the following services:

• At registration, every student who enters the Bethlehem Area School District is given a home language survey to determine the student’s home language. If a language other than English is noted, then the student registers at English Learner Services (ELS).
• Evaluations are administered in English and, if Spanish is the home language, in Spanish, to determine oral language, reading, and writing proficiency.
• If a student is not proficient in English, he/she receives support services from the ESOL Program. All students receive support services in their home schools.
• Students are monitored throughout the year to confirm the appropriateness of their placement.
• Students who are experiencing difficulties in learning English are referred for further testing.

English Learner Services Registration Procedures:

• Initial registration by appointment includes student data, family information, and prior schooling.
• Affidavits are completed and forwarded to the Child Accounting Office.
• Release of Records form is signed.
• Bus passes are given to the family, if the Transportation Grid indicates students are eligible for busing.
• Lunch application is completed and submitted to Dining Services,
• Immunizations records are reviewed and sent directly to the school nurse. If there are missing immunizations, ELS will make appointments for parents to assure entrance into school.

ESOL Program

The ELS evaluation results include: oral proficiency scores, reading and comprehension levels, writing sample, and additional comments.

Students are placed into Entering (Level 1), Emerging (Level 2), Developing (Level 3), or Expanding (Level 4) levels based on listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. Reclassification is determined by successful performance in school and other multiple assessment measures.

Teachers of English acquisition report twice a year on each student’s stages of listening, speaking, reading and writing. Staff members at each school decide when the student is ready to move up to the Emerging, Developing, or Expanding levels or to be reclassified out of the ESOL Program. ELS monitors and records student progress in a database that is maintained internally.

English Learner Services Staff