Master Plan for EL Success

  •  English Language Development Program

     Facts about District 6

    • Colorado's thirteenth largest school district with a growing English Learner population
    • Over 32% of students come from a home where a language other than English is spoken
    • 23% of students are considered English Language Learners

     

    District 6 Vision for English Learners

    Greeley-Evans School District 6 will empower its students who are learning English as a second language to access their unique cultural and linguistic assets in challenging, supportive learning environments, so they meet and exceed readiness goals for college, career, and civic life, thus graduating and becoming successful Members of the global community.  

    This vision articulates ambitious goals for English Language Learners.  In it, the District envisions a future where all students entering D6 as ELLs graduate as college and career ready, productive and global-minded citizens. 

     

    Theory of Action 

    Greeley-Evans School District 6 is committed to improving outcomes for all students who are learning English as a second language and attaining the vision for English Language Learners. The Theory of Action lays out an explicitly stated, causal chain of expectations and outcomes to guide how District 6 will improve education outcomes for these students. 

    • Increase student learning and achievement
    • Strengthen partnerships
    • Build supportive climate and culture
    • Increase organizational and operational effectiveness
     

Instructional Models

  •  
    Language Development Approach 
     
    The goal of the District 6 Language Development Approach is to provide students who learn English as a second language with challenging, personalized, high-quality, rigorous, grade-level standards-based instruction that engages, empowers, and inspires learning every day. Such grade-level standards-based instruction is coherent and anchored in D6's Vision for English Language Learners and the Six Principals for English Language Learner (ELL) Instruction. 
     
    Three Domains for English Language Learner Instruction 
     
    Each of the following three domains each include two principles of ELL instruction as developed by researchers, practitioners, and other stakeholders through Stanford University's Understanding Language Initiative.  
     
    Opportunities to Learn
    • Instruction provides ELLs with opportunities to engage in discipline-specific practices to build conceptual understanding, analytical practices, and language competence simultaneously.
    • Standards-aligned instruction for ELLs is rigorous, grade-level appropriate, and provides deliberate and appropriate scaffolds.
    Asset Orientation
    • Instruction leverages ELLs' home language(s), cultural assets, and prior knowledge. 
    • Instruction moves ELLs forward by taking into account their English proficiency level(s) and prior schooling experiences.
    Developing Autonomy 
    • Instruction fosters ELLs' autonomy by equipping them with the strategies necessary to comprehend and use language in a variety of academic settings.  
    • Formative assessment practices are employed to gather evidence and guide (both teacher and students) productive next steps to support learning conceptual understandings, analytical practices, and language development simultaneously.

    Performance Targets: Milestones for Current and Former English Language Learners ELD Performance Targets and Milestones infographic

    • Increase annually the EL graduation rate
    • Increase in EL enrollment and attainment of Advanced Placement course credits.
    • Decrease annually the long-term EL rate in middle and high schools. 
    • Have 60% of D6 teachers in the process of attainingthe D6 Academic Language and Content Achievement Certificate in five years. 
    • 100% of schools are implementing high yiueld pedagogical practices and increasing academic discourse in the classroom by year three.