Eastern Pulaski’s English Language Learner students shine

The spotlight was on Eastern Pulaski Community School Corporation English Language Learner (ELL) students during a regular school board meeting on Monday, Nov. 10. During the Spotlight on Excellence, ELL Teacher Erica McIntire explained to the school board what her students have to do on a day-to-day basis. McIntire works with students in grades K-12 who learn English as a second language. She is currently teaching 20 students in grades K-11. They come from a variety of different backgrounds, speaking Spanish, Punjabi, Afrikaans and Polish. She advised that the students who spoke Filipino have met proficiency and have been able to exit the program. ELL students have to take the WIDA test, which is an annual assessment for ELLs to measure their English proficiency in listening, speaking, reading and writing. It is a federally required test to understand their current level of English development and guide further instruction and needs. McIntire said that one of the most important things to remember about ELL students is that they are simultaneously  learning the English language along with grade level content, such as math, science and social studies.