ELL Program Details

Gresham-Barlow vision for integrated English language development

The Gresham-Barlow School District (GBSD) works to inspire and empower students, supporting equitable outcomes and experiences for all learners. We focus on the strengths of our diverse students to support socioculturally competent graduates who will thrive in an ever-changing global community. The multilingual learners program supports emergent multilingual students as they develop English language proficiency, celebrating and affirming the rich experiences and skills that culturally and linguistically diverse students bring to our schools and communities.

English language development (ELD) instruction

Elementary (Kindergarten to 5th grade)

Our teachers meet the academic, linguistic, and social needs of a diverse student population through integrated language and content instruction. Classroom teachers and specialists collaboratively plan, teach, and assess to ensure emergent multilingual student success. Teachers and specialists share designated time to co-design lessons with clear roles, expectations, and supports. Students, especially those who are linguistically and culturally diverse, are at the center of our conversations and decisions—every time, every day.

Integrated ELD is a partnership between classroom teachers and language development specialists who share equal responsibility in classroom planning, instruction, assessment, and evaluation (Honigsfeld & Dove, 2010). To effectively teach language and content simultaneously, educators cooperatively design lessons focused on content standards, with specific attention to scaffolding, to best meet the academic and linguistic needs of emergent multilingual students at their respective language proficiency levels. Integrated ELD also offers opportunities throughout the school day for students to be exposed to explicit language development.

Middle and High School (6th to 12th grade)
Students in middle and high school have a separate class period for English language development. At this level, instruction has a greater focus on reading and writing and developing high-level academic language.

At the middle school level, students who are nearing English proficiency (as measured by ELPA) may receive their language support via an AVID Excel course.  The goal of AVID Excel is to accelerate academic language acquisition by supporting the development of critical reading skills and strengthening vocabulary.

Newcomers
Students in K to 12th grades who have less than one year in US schools AND score at the beginning proficiency level may qualify to participate in the Newcomer Program for one to two years or in the Dual Language Immersion (DLI) English/Spanish program until they graduate from High School.  Parents are consulted regarding the most appropriate English language development or bilingual support for the Newcomer student.  Transportation to the Newcomer/DLI program site is provided.

GBSD ELL Program Brochures

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For additional information regarding details of ELL support for your student, please contact the ELL teacher at your student's school.