Did you know that per the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended by the ESSA, requires state education agencies to establish and implement standardized, statewide entrance and exit procedures for English learners (Section 3113).
Duneland’s English Language Learner (ELL) team supports students and their families by developing language learners who are socially and academically prepared to meet their educational and post-secondary goals. The personnel work collaboratively with families from many cultures so that all of our students can maximize their potential. With a focus on what students can do, the team serves as a resource for classroom teachers to meet the varying level of needs of the EL learner.
The members of Duneland’s ELL team consists of Karen Rutkowski, Lei Sensibaugh, Meg McCarel and Lorie Morgan. Their homebase is located at Chesterton Middle School (Room C144 at ext. 7071). Karen and Lei are both licensed teachers. Karen also has a license in Spanish, French and Teacher of English Language Learners; and Lei’s license includes Spanish and Teacher of English Language Learning. Meg and Nancy, serving as Multilingual Academic Interventionists, both have teaching degrees.
To date, Duneland School Corporation has 52 English learners, with 16 different native languages, throughout the nine schools. Because the team travels daily to work with students throughout the district, they can best be reached via email. Students identified as ELL, typically have an Individualized Language Plan. Like an IEP, a student’s ILP is a legal document.
Throughout the school year, not only will the team members provide supplemental support for the identified students, but they will also provide professional learning opportunities that relate to best practices for all students; but are critical to the English Language Learner.
