English Language Development

Franklin Regional School District provides English Language Development (sometimes referred to as English as a Second Language or ESL) programming for students whose native or first language is not English. Students receive daily instruction delivered both by teachers who are certified in English as a Second Language and by other teachers in the District. English Language Development instruction is its own core content area. Instruction is based on a student’s English Proficiency needs and uses content from other classes such as Math, Science, History, and Literacy to help students to contextualize language learning. Pennsylvania’s English Language Development Standards for English Learners provide a framework for standards-based instruction and assessment to help students who are learning English to become proficient, develop high levels of academic attainment in English, and to meet the same challenging academic content standards that all children are expected to meet in their learning. Students who participate in the English Language Development program receive progress reports every nine weeks describing their progress in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Once each year, all students in the program are assessed with a required state assessment. Pennsylvania uses the Assessing Communication and Comprehension in English State to State for English Language Learners (ACCESS for ELLs) as its assessment. Progress reports for this assessment are sent home annually and this assessment is a determining factor for student movement out of the English Language Development program. For more information regarding the English Language Development program, please contact the Director of Instruction and Support Services at 724-327-5456 X7619.