District # 129 has a State Approved Transitional Bilingual Program for students who are Spanish speaking and learning English.  This program utilizes native language for content as students learn English.  There is a required English as a Second Language component of every day.  As students acquire more cognitive academic language, they are transitioned into English reading.  Once there is a base of English reading, students work in the mainstream general education classroom for a part of the day on their way to being fully transitioned out of the Bilingual classroom and into the general education classroom and ultimately exited from Bilingual Education.

The District also has a State Approved Transitional Program of Instruction which is a tutorial model of English as a Second Language.  This program serves students whose first language is considered to be a low incidence language, in our district this would be a language other than English or Spanish.  Once a school reaches 20 students of the same language, the school is required to provide a Transitional Bilingual Program.

General questions regarding services can be addressed to Claudia Rubio, Bilingual Program Coordinator, at crubio@sd129.org or 301-5258.  Mrs. Rubio is responsible for maintaining the database, assisting with parent calls, and setting up transportation relative to students in English Language Learner Programs.

English Language Learner programs are being evaluated. If you have any input, please contact Cynthia Latimer, Assistant Superintendent for Student Services at cllatimer@sd129.org or 301-5071.

Identification/Bilingual Assessment
Responses from the Home Language Survey, (http://www.sd129.org/forms/enrollmentforms.html ) which is completed by parents during registration, triggers the evaluation process for determining the language dominance of students.  The language proficiency level of a student is then determined utilizing the required state assessment – WIDA ACCESS Placement Test.  The parent is informed of eligibility and if appropriate, the student is placed.  At any time a parent or teacher should question the language proficiency or the appropriateness of the placement of a student, the building administrator should be contacted for guidance.  The administrator will direct as appropriate.  For additional information about the assessment process, please contact Amy Rivera, K-8 Bilingual Assessor at arivera@sd129.org or 301-5183. 

English Language Proficiency Standards
The link below provides guidance for teachers who work with English Language Learners.   The document provides an overview, frameworks, standards, and performance indicators such that educators are able to understand and identify the stages of second language acquisition in order to more effectively address the unique learning needs of their students.
The actual standards begin on page 40 of the document.  There is a wealth of information regarding language acquisition on the preceding pages.