English Language Learners

View the Petaluma City Schools Guide to English Learners Master Plan here.

Find information on Understanding the English Language Proficiency for California at Starting Smarter.

English Learner Program

The English Language Learner Program provides services for students who have a language other than English in their home and are not yet fully proficient in English. The goals of the program are to:

• Help students develop both social and academic English
• Support students as they work toward meeting the state's grade-level content area standards
• Encourage students as they develop cross-cultural proficiency

English Learner Students at PCSD are a diverse group of students comprising approximately 15% of the total student population.

What is English Language Development (ELD)?

English Language Development (ELD) is the language arts curriculum for all currently identified English language learners. The curriculum is based on the State’s English Language Development (ELD) Standards and provides a pathway for English learners of all proficiency levels to eventually meet or exceed the regular grade-level English Language Arts Standards. The state’s ELD standards are available on the California Department of Education website.

All identified English Learners must receive level-appropriate ELD from a certificated teacher until they are reclassified out of the English learner program. For students at the beginning stages of English proficiency, the instruction will focus on basic vocabulary development, oral language development, and foundational reading and writing skills. At the higher levels of proficiency, the ELD curriculum provides support for students to meet the regular grade-level English Language Arts Standards. In addition to ELD, English learners will also receive instruction in other content areas (math, social science, electives) with appropriate support.

Yearly Assessment of English Learners

Students who are identified as English Learners take the English Language Proficiency Assessment for California (ELPAC) each year. This test is administered at the start of the school year for newcomer students whose primary language is anything other than English and between February and May for every student classified as an English Learner.

Reclassification

When an identified English Learner reaches level 4 of English proficiency, as determined by results on the ELPAC test, comparison of performance in basic skills, and teacher and parent input, the student is reclassified and exited from the English Learner Program.

English Learners Parent Committees

These committees give the parents of English Learners the opportunity to learn more about the English Learner program and to give advice on programs for English Learners.