General
GSIS is committed to appropriately placing students in programs where they will be able to comprehend the academic language and will experience success. All applicants should complete the GSIS supplication file and schedule a day of testing and/or residence interview. It is necessary to complete all sections of the Home Language Survey and the Educational and Personal Background section. This initial meeting with the parents/guardians present is the best time to obtain information. Initially, all applicants complete diagnostic reading, math, and writing assessments.
If a student scores two or more grade levels lower on the reading comprehension assessment than his/her targeted entry grade level, then he/she is given an oral language proficiency test and a written grammar test. The results along with the Home Language Survey, the Educational and Personal Background information, the transcripts, the writing sample and the math test are forwarded to the grade level principal who in consultation with an ESL specialist will review the data and make a decision on the most appropriate placement for the student. Prospective students requiring additional diagnostic assessment may need to return to GSIS for a second day to complete the process.
GSIS Elementary School ESL Program
Students are enrolled in the Elementary GSIS ESL program if English is not their mother-tongue language and if their English language skills in listening, speaking, reading, or writing are significantly below that of their grade level. English proficiency is based on several measures including: standardized assessments in oral/aural skills, reading and writing; prior academic records; and personal interviews. Students may receive pull-out instruction, inclusionary instruction in the classroom, or a combination of the two.
Six levels, “ A” through “F”, of English language proficiency are established in the elementary school. All students who demonstrate language skills at Level A attend regular ESL classes to develop communication skills with commonly used English vocabulary and phrases. However, only students in grades three through five continue to attend ESL classes once they have reached Levels B through D in all three areas (oral communication, reading, and writing). Students in grades Kindergarten through grade two at Levels B through D receive the continued benefit of extensive language instruction in their regular classrooms. Decisions as to whether or not a student with a combination of levels E and F in the three areas will attend ESL classes will be made on an individual basis. However, those students will continue to be monitored for progress. If they do not make adequate progress, they may begin to receive ESL services again. Students who have previously received ESL services and now score at Level F in all three areas are considered "monitored” ESL students." They are monitored for two semesters, after which time they are reassessed for the purpose of exiting them from the program.
GSIS Middle School ESL Program
In the Middle School ESL program, GSIS identifies six levels of English language proficiency. Students who demonstrate English language skills at Levels 1, 2 or 3 will be enrolled in Language B English and content-based sheltered courses. Students who demonstrate English language skills at Level 4 or Level 5 will be enrolled in Language B English Advanced and sheltered instruction courses. Students who demonstrate English language skills at Level 6 will be placed in mainstream courses and monitored for two semesters by the ESL Department for consistent progress in English language proficiency. After two academically successful semesters in mainstream courses, students will be officially exited from the ESL program. At the eighth grade level, GSIS offers ESL services only to Levels 4 and 5; beginning level ESL students are only accepted in grades six and seven.
GSIS High School ESL Program
At the high school level, GSIS generally does not accept new students who cannot succeed in mainstream courses. However, a small sheltered ESL program is maintained for those students coming to us from GSIS middle school who have not yet transitioned into mainstream courses. As with middle school students, high school students who have transitioned into mainstream courses are monitored and reevaluated for continued progress after two semesters
