Bentonville School's ESL program provides individualized support to students who regularly use or hear a language other than English at home. The goals of the ESL program are to:

1. ensure each student has equitable access to general classroom instruction

2. provide appropriate English language development instruction to lead each student to achieve English fluency and literacy

3. encourage each student and family to pursue fluency and literacy in language(s) other than English - being bilingual is like having a superpower!

Identified students in grades K - 12 will be assigned to a Language Proficiency Assessment Committee (LPAC). The LPAC members will include the student's counselor, teacher(s) administrator(s), and ESL teacher. ESL teachers are certified teachers who have specialized training in English as a Second Language instruction. The LPAC members will work with the ESL Center staff to decide which ELD services are appropriate for each student. The official LPAC decision documents will be mailed home for each family to review.

Language Instruction Education Program (LIEP) Codes: Required for all students identified as EL Status - even those whose parents have waived services. These must be recorded correctly in eSchool for all EL students. Each student must have an English Language Development (ELD) Program Code and an Access to Core Content (CC) Code. 

ELD Push-in (ELD-PI): EL teachers collaborating with classroom teachers in providing English language development instruction to English Learners in the classroom by assisting ELs with language demands of the lessons.

ELD Pull-out (ELD-PO): ELs spend part of the day in a mainstream classroom, and are “pulled out” for  a portion of the day to receive ELD instruction. Instruction provided by EL teachers or EL  Instructional Assistants working under the direct supervision of a certified teacher. The  program targets specific English skills that are preventing students from fully participating  in the mainstream classroom . EL students of similar proficiency and/or similar grade level  are grouped for instruction. This approach is more common in elementary school settings. 

ELD Embedded (ELD-EM): ELs receive intentional dedicated ELD instruction during a mainstream content class by classroom teachers embedding instruction in English language development. This may be done in collaboration with an EL Teacher or EL Instructional Assistant working under the direction of a certified teacher. For students at emerging or lower progressing levels of the English Language Proficiency (ELP) standards, this is often a small group or individual mini-lesson specifically teaching the language needed to engage successfully across a variety of content areas. For students at upper progressing or proficient levels of the ELP standards, which are similar to grade level language standards, this is often embedded within the ELA instruction provided to all students.

ELD Class Period (ELD-CP): ELs receive their ELD instruction during a regular class period and also  receive course credit for the class. This approach is more common in middle schools and  high schools.

ELD Newcomer Program (ELD-NP): Separate, relatively self-contained educational interventions  designed to meet the academic and transitional needs of newly arrived immigrants.  Typically, students attend these programs on a short-term basis (usually no more than two  years) before they enter more traditional programs (e.g., English language development  and/or Sheltered Instruction courses or programs). ELs receive their ELD in this program.

ELD Declined Services (ELD-DS): Declined services and not participating in an ELD Program Note: Used only for students whose parents have declined the ELD program services. 

CCP Sheltered Instruction (CCP-SI): Teacher provides instruction that simultaneously introduces both language and content, using specialized techniques to  accommodate ELs’ linguistic needs. Instruction focuses on the teaching of academic content rather than the English language itself, even though the  acquisition of English may be one of the instructional goals. Some examples of  sheltered instruction models may include SIOP, GLAD, SDAIE, and CM. Classes using a Sheltered Instruction approach can be designed exclusively for ELs or for a mixture of ELs and non-ELs.

CCP Content Classes with Integrated Support (CCP-CC): This approach has content  knowledge as the goal; teachers provide appropriate linguistic  accommodations/supports so that English Learners may access the content. This is not the same as Embedded ELD, but may work in conjunction with Embedded ELD as well as with other ELD models.

CCP Newcomer Program (CCP-NP): Separate, relatively self contained instructional program designed to meet the academic and  transitional needs of newly arrived immigrants. Typically, students attend  these programs on a short-term basis (usually no more than two years) before  they enter more traditional programs (e.g., English language development  and/or Sheltered Instruction courses or programs). ELs receive their core  content instruction in this program. These programs enroll ELs exclusively.

CCP Declined Services (CCP-DS): Declined services and not participating in an access to core content program Note: Used only for students whose parents have declined the ELD program services.

ESL Program Services

How Students Qualify for ESL (Flow Chart)

English Language Proficiency Standards (ELP Standards)

Achievement Level Descriptors (ALDs)