Good Report On ELL Coordinator Interview

I interviewed the ELL Coordinator of school district U-46 Elgin Illinois. He has 15 years working experience spread across working as a teacher of English, ESL coordinator and five years working as an ELL coordinator for the district. I selected him because of his vast experience in the field, and due to his being a bilingual and a non-native English speaker. I feel his profile is one that I identify with, and his area of specialization is the direction that I would like to go.
The demographics are reflective of the diversity in American society. The area consists of speakers of Spanish being the majority at19485, English 16294, low incident Polish 827, Gujarati 730, Talagu 608, Urdu 510 and Lao 325. From the demographics, a majority of the students are ESL students. It is, therefore, important for the ELL Coordinator to design programs that accommodate the needs of students with different levels of understanding of the English language. Due to the difference in culture, it also important for the teacher to be able to incorporate the student's culture to enrich their learning experience and promote better understanding. The teacher should ideally have a Master’s degree in Linguistics/TESOL/Linguistics. They should have extensive experience in teaching, experience with WIDA, ELD, and ability to use modern teaching methods and data management.
According to the ELL coordinator, they let the parents have the right to choose what is best for the students. The schools offer guidance to parents to help them understand the available options and decide what best suits their children. The parents are then left to choose which programs they would like to engage their children in. He says that it is crucial to include research and scenarios that support either one of the parent’s decisions, when offering a program that will benefit the student. In their district, they provide different avenues of communicating to parents what is offered and why. They provide information in various languages to ensure a full understanding of the steps involved. He emphasized that a collaborative effort between parents and teachers is necessary for the success of ELL.
The district follows the state and federal compliance requirements, and that is where a district should start from. The area goes above and beyond by hiring highly qualified staff and rigorous professional development. They also have a research-based curriculum that supports the high expectations of standard based instruction. On top of that, based on the school population, the district is a Dual Language district, and its goal is to develop high achievement in English and Spanish as well as ensure the culture and language of the students are recognized and valued. It is important to capture all aspects of language, including culture and literature, to ensure holistic mastery of language.
The coordinator stated that it is important to involve all teaching staff (not ELL teachers) of the advantages of ELL education. The district community needs to be aware of multiculturalism and diversity so it will be more respected and acknowledged. From his personal assessment, he believes that they are serving their students as best as they can but recognizes that more can be done.
The assessments include MAP, Fountas, and Pinnell; EDL 2 in Spanish and F&P in Spanish English and Spanish, and based on student profile the language that applies. The tests are done on paper and online. The complexity of the papers usually varies with the productive language being the most difficult (L&S). The program takes as long as is needed to master the language based on ACCESS. The amount of time is also dependent on a student's speed in learning the language. If a student starts in K, then it takes them 3 to 4 years. It also depends on how conversant the student is with the language. Every child is different and is treated according to their need and their entry behavior. The most common accommodation given during exams is extended time. The other is to write in Spanish or read to the student. ELL students’ content-area test scores are included in overall school and district results.
I was impressed by the way ELL is handled by the district. I have seen that they have put all efforts to ensure that language competency does not become a barrier to learning. I, however, noted that the ELL coordinator did not expound on the use of culture to enhance learning in ELL. In my classroom work, I will strive to ensure that I use the familiar to build on the unfamiliar by using aspects of the students’ culture to develop their mastery of the new language. I am also enlightened by the fact that the district has incorporated Spanish, making their ELL focus on two languages, which I think is enriching. My bias had been in English. I would, however, approach assessment differently by limiting the use of standardized tests in determining proficiency, and instead designing student specific tests to accommodate different levels of proficiency.