Multilingual Services

District 63 celebrates diversity! With more than 65 languages spoken in our schools, our students are part of a robust, multicultural population. The District's Multilingual Department is committed to meeting our students' and their families' unique needs and helping our English language learners succeed and thrive.

District 63 schools offer a wide range of programs for students who qualify for English services from preschool through 8th grade. Our team of more than 60 ELL-certified teachers provides on-site language support. 

Please note -- Parents have the right to refuse English services. If your child qualifies for English services and you do not wish your child to receive these services, contact the school office.

The State of Illinois requires all students identified as English language learners (ELLs) to take the Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State-to-State (ACCESS) for ELLs® 2.0 assessment each year. This includes students enrolled in the District's ELL or Dual Language Programs and identified students whose parents have declined language support services. The ACCESS assesses student proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing, including: 

• progress in English language learning.
• current social and academic English proficiency levels.

Your child will complete the ACCESS test, which only takes a few days, during January and February.

Here are the details:

• Students in grades 1-3 will take the listening, reading, and speaking assessments on the computer. Writing will be administered as a paper/pencil test.
• Students in grades 4-8 will take all four assessments on the computer. 
• Students in kindergarten will take all four assessments: listening, reading, speaking, and writing – administered individually by a teacher using paper/pencil. The entire assessment will take 30-45 minutes to complete.

Help your child do their best on the ACCESS assessment by ensuring they attend school daily during the testing window (January/February). Remind your child to ask the teacher any questions about test directions. You’ll receive your child’s test results at the beginning of the next school year. 

Once a student receives an overall composite score of 4.8 on the Access for ELLs assessment, they no longer qualify for English services.

Parents will receive an official score report each August/Sept. Questions? Contact your child's teacher or Erin Sterling, Director of Multilingual Services, at 847.299.1900 x 8406.

ACCESS for ELLs FAQ

Según lo requerido por el Estado de Illinois, cada invierno todos los estudiantes del Distrito Escolar 63 identificados como estudiantes de inglés (ELLs) toman la prueba Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State-to-State (ACCESS) for ELLs® 2.0. Esto incluye a los estudiantes que están matriculados en el programa de inglés (ELL), el programa de lenguaje dual---además de los estudiantes identificados como ELL cuyos padres han rechazado los servicios de apoyo para idiomas. 

ACCESS for ELLs® 2.0 evalúa la competencia de los estudiantes en escuchar, hablar, leer y escribir para medir:

• el progreso en el aprendizaje del inglés
• los niveles actuales de competencia social y académica en inglés

Su hijo completará la prueba ACCESS, que solo toma unos días, en cualquier momento durante los meses enero/febrero. 

Aquí están los detalles:

• Los estudiantes en los grados 1-3 tomarán las evaluaciones de escuchar, leer y hablar en la computadora.  La evaluación de escritura se va a administrar usando papel/lápiz.
• Los estudiantes en los grados 4-8 tomarán las cuatro evaluaciones en la computadora.
• Los estudiantes en el jardín infantil (Kinder) tomarán las cuatro evaluaciones - escuchar, leer, hablar y escribir - individualmente con un/a maestro/a, usando papel/lápiz.  La evaluación completa tomará entre 30 y 45 minutos.

Usted puede ayudar a su hijo/a que haga lo mejor que él/ella pueda hacer en la evaluación asegurando que asista a la escuela todos los días durante las fechas de la evaluación y que haga preguntas a su maestro/a si no entiende las instrucciones.  Recibirá los resultados de su hijo/a de la evaluación en agosto/septiembre.  Información adicional sobre la prueba se encuentra en el otro lado de esta carta. 

Si usted tiene preguntas o preocupaciones sobre la evaluación, por favor contáctese con el/la maestro/a de su hijo/a o me puede llamar al 847-299-1900, ext. 8406 para más información. 

Una vez que un estudiante recibe un puntaje compuesto general de 4.8 en la evaluación Access for ELLs, ya no califica para los servicios de inglés.

Los padres recibirán los resultados de la prueba en agosto/septiembre. ¿Preguntas? Comuníquese con el maestro de su hijo o con Erin Sterling, Directora de Servicios Multilingües. 

ACCESS for ELLs preguntas más frecuentes.

Other Available Languages

• Arabic
• Gujarati
• Russian
• Ukrainian
• Urdu

What is ACCESS for ELLs® 2.0?

ACCESS for ELLs® 2.0 is a standards-based, language proficiency test designed to measure English language learners' social and academic proficiency in English. It assesses social and instructional English as well as the language associated with language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies within the school context across the four language domains: Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing.

Who needs to take ACCESS for ELLs® 2.0?

Public school districts are required to annually assess all identified English learners in grades K-12 using the ACCESS for ELLs® 2.0 assessment. This includes all identified students whose parents have refused language support services. English learners must take the test until they achieve the state prescribed minimum score to be considered English proficient. 

What proficiency level score does a student have to obtain to be considered English proficient? 

As of June 2017, students who obtain an overall composite proficiency level of 4.8 on the annually administered state-approved English language proficiency test, ACCESS for ELLs® 2.0, are to be considered English proficient and no longer qualify for English services.

ACCESS for ELLs® 2.0 PREGUNTAS FRECUENTES

¿Qué es ACCESS for ELLs® 2.0?

ACCESS for ELLs® 2.0 es una evaluación de competencia lingüística en idioma inglés basada en estándares y criterios establecidos, diseñada para medir la competencia lingüística en inglés de estudiantes del idioma inglés en situaciones sociales y en el medio académico. En esta evaluación, se evalúa el idioma inglés en ámbitos sociales y académicos, así como el lenguaje asociado con lengua y literatura en inglés, matemáticas, ciencias y estudios sociales dentro del contexto escolar en las cuatro áreas del lenguaje: comprensión auditiva, expresión oral, lectura y escritura.

¿Quién necesita realizar la evaluación ACCESS for ELLs® 2.0?

Los distritos de escuelas públicas deben evaluar anualmente a sus estudiantes de idioma inglés (ELL) identificados de todos los ciclos lectivos a través de la evaluación ACCESS for ELLs® 2.0 hasta que los estudiantes alcancen un nivel de competencia lingüística adecuado en idioma inglés. Esto incluye a los estudiantes identificados cuyos padres han rechazado los servicios de apoyo para idiomas. Todos los estudiantes de idioma inglés deben realizar la evaluación hasta que alcancen el puntaje mínimo obligatorio establecido por el estado para que se considere que tienen competencia lingüística en idioma inglés.

¿Qué puntaje de nivel de competencia lingüística debe obtener un estudiante para que se considere que tiene competencia lingüística en idioma inglés?

A partir del 1º de junio de 2017, se considerará que los estudiantes que obtengan un nivel de competencia general combinado de 4.8 en la evaluación anual de competencia lingüística en idioma inglés aprobada por el estado, ACCESS for ELLs® 2.0, tienen competencia lingüística en idioma inglés y ya no son aptos para los servicios de inglés. 

District 63's Dual Language Parent Advisory Council (DLPAC) brings together parents from Nelson, Stevenson, and Apollo whose children are in the Bilingual and Dual Language Programs. Its mission is to create a community of bilingual families that empowers all students to succeed in a changing world. The DLPAC is a great way to offer your feedback about how programs are meeting the needs of families and gather suggestions on how we can make changes to better meet the needs of District 63 students. 

The DLPAC will meet five times a school year. All participants are encouraged to provide input on the planning, operation, and evaluation of the Dual Language and Bilingual Programs. Meetings are held in Spanish and English.

DLPAC goals are to:

• Maintain open communication between parents and District 63.
• Provide parents of bilingual students with opportunities to learn about and discuss District programs.
• Gather input on topics for expanding District parent education programs.
• Review the District’s annual Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE)/Transitional Program of Instruction (TPI) grant.

  We encourage all parents of students in the Dual Language and Bilingual Programs to become active members of the DLPAC.

For information, contact Erin Sterling, Director of Multilingual Services, at 847.493.8406, or Erika Campos, Assistant to the Director, at 847.493.8421.  

Dual Language Program 
Available to all PreK-5th-grade Spanish-speaking students who qualify, our dual language classrooms offer instruction in Spanish and English simultaneously based on the guiding principles of:

• Bilingualism and biliteracy 
• High academic achievement for all students 
• Sociocultural competence 

The language allocation for our dual language program (that is, the percent of instruction in either Spanish or English) changes over time:

• PreK-K: 80/20 (80 percent of instruction is in Spanish, 20 percent is in English)
• Grade 1: 70/30
• Grade 2: 60/40
• Grades 3-5: 50/50
• Grades 6-8: Once students transition to Gemini Middle School, they are enrolled in the Spanish for Spanish Speakers Spanish Language Arts class to continue their path towards bilingualism and biliteracy. 

Dual language classrooms are offered at the Early Learning Center (preschool only), Apollo, and Nelson. If your child attends Mark Twain, Melzer, or Washington, and you are interested in enrolling them in the program, contact either the school or the District office. If your child qualifies, transportation to Apollo or Nelson will be provided at no cost. 

Multilingual (ML) Program & Services
Our multilingual services provide students with a safe, risk-free learning environment that supports language development and academic achievement. Qualifying students who speak a language other than English may receive language support services from one of the following or both: 

• Bilingual/multilingual certified resource teachers, who provide English support services within the classroom or pull students out of the classroom. Common supported languages include Urdu, Spanish, Gujarati, and Assyrian. 
• ELL-endorsed classroom teachers who are specially trained in the area of language acquisition. These teachers embed language development and learning into daily lessons. 

Services vary by year and school, depending on each school's population. For more information about ELL/bilingual services in District 63, contact your child's school, Director of Multilingual Services Erin Sterling at 847.493.8406, or Assistant to the Director Erika Campos at 847.493.8421. 

Students who do not qualify for multilingual services will be placed in the general education program. These students will not receive any type of multilingual instruction/services.

Please note: parents have the right to refuse multilingual services. Please notify the school if you would not like your child to receive language support services.   

Qualifying for English Learning, Dual Language, or multilingual services at District 63 is a multi-step process that begins when a new student enrolls in a District school. 

• During student enrollment, parents/guardians complete a Home Language Survey.
• If the survey indicates that a language other than English is spoken in the home, the student is given a state-mandated language assessment to determine English proficiency.
• Based on assessment results, district staff determines whether or not a student qualifies for English Learning, Dual Language, or Multilingual services.  
• Students who qualify may be enrolled in English Learning, Dual Language, or Multilingual services, as appropriate. Parents will be notified if their child qualifies for services.
• As mandated by state law, each school year, all students enrolled in these programs must take the ACCESS for ELLs® test, which measures their social and academic language proficiency. 
• When a student receives the state-prescribed minimum score for English proficiency -- a 4.8 Overall Composite Proficiency Score -- they are eligible to exit the language program. 

Please note that parents have the right to refuse English Learning, Dual Language, or Multilingual services. Notify the school if you do not wish your child to receive these services.