English Learner Education

Greater Lowell Technical High School is committed to ensuring that all our students – including those who are acquiring English – receive the best education possible. By law, all school-aged English learners (ELs) are eligible for English Learner support to help them become fluent English speakers. Greater Lowell meets the needs of our English Learners in the following ways:

English Learner Support Classes:

• ESL licensed teachers provide direct English language instruction to students in the four domains of speaking, listening, reading, and writing.
• ESL licensed teachers provide consultation support to classroom teachers and student support, based on each student’s English learning needs.
• ESL licensed instructors co-teach with academic and/or technical program area instructors for more linguistic support.
• Support staff (liaisons, guidance counselors, adjustment counselors, nurses) provide resources to EL students and their families.
• Para-professionals are used to support direct instruction provided by content area teachers.

The English Learner program’s curriculum is aligned with Greater Lowell’s district curricula, WIDA standards, and Massachusetts state standards.

RETELL Initiative:

The State of Massachusetts’ top priority in K-12 education is to improve outcomes for all students and ensure that all public high school students graduate college and career ready. ELs are the state's fastest growing group of students, and, as a group, experience the largest proficiency gap when compared to their native English speaking peers. In order to strengthen instruction and better support the academic achievement of ELs, the state Board of Elementary and Secondary adopted new regulations in June 2012. These new regulations, which include a requirement that all incumbent core academic teachers of ELs earn a Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) Teacher Endorsement by July 1, 2016, are at the centerpiece of the Department's Rethinking Equity and Teaching for English Language Learners (RETELL) initiative to transform the teaching and learning of ELs across the Commonwealth. Greater Lowell Technical High School’s core instructional staff is currently meeting this regulation by completing the SEI endorsement course to receive the SEI Endorsement.

Definitions:

EL – English Learner; the term used to describe a learner whose first language is not English.

ESL – English as second language, the name of the license that instructors have.

ELE – English Learner Education; the term used to describe the instructional program.

LEP- Limited English Proficient; the term used in conjunction with federal reporting to classify English language learners.