Whittier’s ESL teachers serve approximately 75 students, 23% of the students at Whittier. In accordance with district policy, ESL is considered to be alternative language arts and is scheduled during grade level literacy blocks. Students receive 45 minutes of ESL services per day, except (1/2 day) kindergarten, which is allotted thirty minutes. We offer a balanced program of listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

In the primary grade a main focus is literacy acquisition, using guided reading strategy groups with extra attention to vocabulary and sentence structure. One of our ESL teachers is CLIP-trained and sets aside an extra half hour per day to work with struggling readers. ESL also supports content studies in classroom IB units with a strong writing focus in grades 2-5. Whenever possible, we group students by English level and individualize programs when appropriate. Once students are redesigned as fully English proficient (FEP), we follow them for two years to assure that they maintain grade level or above proficiency.

Alternative Language Arts (ESL) Standards

ESL Students at the Shakespeare Festival