ESOL at ISM
One of the many specialized programs we offer at ISM is the ESOL department. This department focuses on improving key students skills across many different areas of the English language. Almost all students at ISM have been involved with, or received some form of ESOL support during their time here. The ESOL teacher works alongside the homeroom teacher, the common core curriculum, and it utilizes its own specialist platform which is WIDA.
What is WIDA?
WIDA stands for the World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment. It’s a group that focuses on helping English Language Learners (ELLs) succeed in school. They create resources and assessments to measure how well ELLs are learning English and mastering academic content.
WIDA provides teachers, schools, and districts with tools and support to effectively teach ELLs. This includes standards, assessments, professional development, and resources. By using WIDA’s resources, educators can better understand the language needs of their ELLs and provide them with the support they need to thrive.
How do we use it at ISM?
All students in the ESOL program undergo a WIDA assessment at the beginning and end of each year. The reason we do this is because we want to create an action plan in order to assist each student on their journey. The ESOL department along with the homeroom teacher, ES counselor and ES principal, analyze this data, and decide the best course of action going forward. This could be scheduling additional lessons with the ESOL teacher, monitoring the student in the classroom environment, or simply communicating with parents, as to some self study the student can do at home. Each student’s needs are different and this is why the hard data from WIDA is so useful.
Author
Joe Macpherson
ESOL Teacher
Elementary School
