LANGUAGE: IMMERSION AND
ELL/SLL SERVICES

ANS values academic bi-literacy!  All children grow and learn their language and literacy skills in English and Spanish, from our youngest learners through the 12th grade.  If your child is new to our school or they are still learning English or Spanish, your child will benefit from the immersion experience to learn the language.  

You can help your child open their hearts and minds to this immersion experience by encouraging them and letting them know it’s expected that they won’t understand much at first.  But over time, they will begin to understand more and more.  Our brains can naturally learn a new language when we have a powerful purpose of understanding and expressing ourselves.

Why is the teacher speaking only Spanish or English when all children haven’t learned the language?  

We believe that when children feel a powerful purpose in using their new language, their brains will progress faster in making sense of the new language.  That’s why teachers will model being faithful to the language of instruction because we know that it’s the best way to help your child learn and take risks with their new language.  

Will the children still receive ELL and SLL support?

In August, the Language team will screen children to determine eligibility for language services.  By the first week of September, the ELL and SLL Language Team will have identified children, notified parents, and begun their ELL or SLL support for children who are still learning English or Spanish.  

 If your child is identified as eligible for ELL or SLL services, it is required that the child receive this service to adequately support their academic needs.  To participate in our ANS program, ELL or SLL services cannot be waived.

Because we hire extra teachers for this purpose, there is an additional charge for ELL services, and the Business Office will notify parents of the amount.  

How will my child be graded in their immersion classes?

Because ANS is a standards-based school, we will evaluate your child’s mastery of the grade-level literacy standards in both English and Spanish, and the other subjects will be assessed in English.  The best indicator of their literacy skills will be in their primary language.  As the child’s developing language grows, their ability to demonstrate mastery of the grade-level academic abilities will grow as well.   For children beginning in the younger grades, we expect that children achieve full academic bi-literacy in demonstrating knowledge of the standards in both their primary language and their developing language by third grade.

The child is in the early stages of acquiring the language, so grades are not reported for literacy in developing language during their first year at ANS.

• Level 1: Entering
• Level 2: Emerging

The child is growing their language skills, but we expect that mastery of standards reflects the child’s language development.  

• Level 3: Developing
• Level 4: Expanding
• Level 5: Bridging
  
  

After their first year at ANS, all children are assessed in both languages based on grade-level standards.