The Carlisle Area School District is home to students from multiple linguistic backgrounds including immigrants as well as children of international fellows of the Army War College. The education of students whose dominant language is not English and who are identified as English Learners (ELs) is the responsibility of every Local Education Agency (LEA). Title 22, Chapter 4, Section 4.26 of the Curriculum Regulations requires the LEA to provide a program for every student who is an EL.
The goal of the Carlisle Area School District Language Instruction Educational Program (LIEP) is to facilitate the development and attainment of English proficiency and academic achievement of students whose native or first language is not English. Without instruction in social and academic English and appropriate support for learning academic content, these students are at risk of losing the educational opportunities provided to non-EL students.
English Language Development (ELD) is a required component of an LIEP. ELD takes place daily throughout the day for ELs and is delivered by both English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers and non-ESL teachers. ELD instruction delivered by a licensed ESL teacher is its own content area. ELD in this context is driven by language, but it draws from general education content as a vehicle for instruction in order to contextualize language learning. It must be codified in a dedicated and planned curriculum specifically designed to develop the English language proficiency of ELs so that they are able to use English in social and academic settings and access challenging academic standards. ELD instruction provides systematic, explicit, and sustained language instruction designed to prepare students for the general academic program by focusing, in meaningful and contextualized circumstances, on the academic language structures that underpin social and academic constructs.
In addition to ELD delivered by ESL teachers, ELD must be incorporated into all classes taught by non-ESL licensed teachers in which ELs are enrolled. These teachers are responsible for deliberately planning for and incorporating language instruction as well as supports, modifications, and accommodations needed to allow ELs to access the standards to which the course is aligned.