WELCOME

Each school year, our number one goal here at Shandin Hills is to help as many students as possible become reclassified and reach their full academic potential! An English language learner (ELL) is a special type of student whose knowledge of two or more languages will benefit them far into the future.

• What qualifications do I need to meet in order to be reclassified?

-Passing scores on the yearly TELL or ELPAC test.

-A STAR reading level of “On Watch” or better. This translates to a reading level or 1 grade below the student’s current grade or better. For example, if I am a student in the seventh grade the lowest reading level I can have and still be reclassified is a sixth grade reading level.

-A passing grade in English Language Arts

-A 2.0 GPA or better overall.

Now that we know the current qualifications necessary to be reclassified, it is important to determine a student’s current proficiency levels. Remember that a student’s proficiency levels is not a measure of intelligence and that moving up in proficiency levels is like climbing a set of stairs-one step at a time.

• What is your current English proficiency level?

There are five English proficiency levels recognized here at Shandin Hills. Newcomers or L1s, Basic or L2s, Intermediate or L3s, High or L4s, and Advanced or English-fluent proficient.

• Being in middle school and being an ELL

Most middle school ELLs are LTELs or Long Term English Language Learners. A Long Term English Language Learner is a student who has been enrolled in a US school for more than six years but have not yet reach fluent-proficiency. Most are at a proficiency level 3 or the intermediate level. This means that the majority of LTELs at Shandin Hills will focus on developing academic language and vocabulary.

It is very important as we begin and continue our journey here at Shandin Hills that we work together (teachers, parents, and students) to ensure that every LTEL at an intermediate level continues to move forward and ultimately exits the EL program before entering high school.

According to the California Department of Education there are over 1 million English learners in in California and they make up 20 percent of the total student population. 

Nearly 30% of all English learners are at the secondary level (middle and high school) and the majority of those students are LTELs.  

Also, research indicates that the longer a student remains an English learner the more likely they are to drop out of school. “Dropout rates for ELL students were 25 percent, compared to 15 percent for non-English learners. English learners who were reclassified in later grades had higher dropout rates than those who were reclassified early. 33 percent dropped out if they were still classified as ELLs in high school” (edweek.org)

Here at Shandin Hills we want the best for our students. With LTELs making up such a large chunk of the student population, we need to work together to ensure reclassification and more importantly equitable academic success for all students.