Middletown Public Schools has made high quality instruction for English Learners (ELs) a top priority and provides various instructional programs and services to help students learn academic English as they learn content in all subject areas.

Middletown Public Schools enrolls about 200 English Learner students every year. Our goal is that all ELs will graduate as lifelong learners with 21st century skills in order to succeed in college and careers. We aim to provide a culturally and linguistically responsive education with the supports needed to ensure equitable access to opportunities that promote language acquisition, bilingualism, biliteracy and lifelong learning.

EL students are identified through the Home Language Survey at registration, and parent interviews are scheduled. Students are screened, utilizing the WIDA screener, 20 days within registering with our district. All “active” EL students are given the annual language proficiency ACCESS for ELs state assessments.

EL students are placed in classrooms where EL support can be provided or is accessible for students. Data from the WIDA screener and the ACCESS assessment is used to determine placement in age-appropriate/grade level appropriate classrooms. Students arriving at our district from other RI schools are placed in the program and classroom, based on data pulled from the EL census. School records, report cards, and foreign transcripts are also used in placement decisions when possible.

Students are exited/reclassified from the EL program based on the scores of the annual state test, “ACCESS 2.0 for ELLs”. The state criteria is a score of 4.8 Overall. Exited students are monitored for two years.

Current EL students receive support through the collaborative model. EL teachers work closely with classroom teachers to provide direct and indirect support with the current curriculum to meet the needs of the EL students as much as possible within the general education classrooms. EL newcomers and level 1 and 2 students may receive pull out or direct and special classroom instruction from the EL teachers for more interactive and language acquisition instruction needs. EL teachers work as consultants and coaches to teachers, provide professional development and language acquisition training and assessment support. EL teachers also attend parent conferences and school open houses.

Ronilee Mooney, Ed.D
MPS EL Coordinator
rmooney@mpsri.net