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Title I is the largest federal aid program for our nation's schools. Each year the Fayetteville School District receives over one million dollars in Title I funds. Title I funds are directed to schools with high levels of poverty. The goal of Title I is to assist schools in providing a quality education for every child. The Title I program is designed to serve students most at risk of not meeting the state standards. Services are offered in reading, language arts, and math. Eight schools in the Fayetteville School District are eligible to receive Title I funds. These schools are Asbell, Butterfield, Happy Hollow, Holcomb, Jefferson, Leverett, Washington, and Holt. Asbell, Happy Hollow, Jefferson, Leverett, Washington, and Holt are schoolwide Title I schools. In a school-wide school, all students in the school are eligible to receive Title I services. In the other Title I schools (Butterfield and Holcomb), specific students are targeted for acceleration.
Some of the more innovative programs made possible by Title I funds are: looping, reduction in class size, Reading Recovery, Guided Literacy, and the expansion of ELLA. Title I funds are also used to provide additional support to the Migrant and English as a Second Language (ESL) programs. Numerous professional development and parent involvement initiatives are funded through Title I. In addition, many of the Arkansas state initiatives in assessment are guided by No Child Left Behind and Title I rules and regulations on accountability.
In addition to the programs in the public schools, Title I funds provide services to qualifying students at St. Joseph Catholic School and the United Methodist Children's Home for Boys.
English as a Second Language (ESL) is an acceleration program for students whose primary language is not English. Currently the Fayetteville School District has over 800 ESL students. 664 of these students have been determined to be ELL, English Language Learners, in need of ESL services.
Thirty-nine languages other than English are spoken in the Fayetteville District. Spanish is the language spoken most often by ESL students. Chinese, Arabic, Korean, and Marshallese are the next most frequently spoken languages.
The primary objective of the ESL program is to teach the ESL students English. The ESL program is not a bilingual program. It is not a remedial program. It is not a tutorial program. It is an acceleration program designed to help the ESL students learn English as quickly as possible.
Across the United States there are many instructional models designed to teach English Language Learners. Within every program, there are wide variations in application and strategies. Therefore, the following program descriptions must be viewed as general/generic descriptions. The ESL program used in the Fayetteville School District is a combination of Content-based ESL and Sheltered Instruction. Students learn English through modified academic content instruction. The ESL teachers and the classroom teachers work closely together, each complimenting the instruction of the other.
In Content-based ESL Instruction, the ESL teacher pulls the students out of the mainstream classroom to teach English. The English instruction is not done in isolation. Instead, it ties directly to the course content material taught in the classroom. This does not mean that the ESL teacher is teaching the course content. It does mean that the ESL teacher is using the terminology and vocabulary used in the mainstream course as much as possible. The objective of Content-based ESL instruction is still to teach the students English.
In Sheltered Instruction, the ESL teacher and the classroom teacher work closely together to teach both course content and the English language. In one model, the ESL teacher may actually replace the classroom teacher, assuming all responsibility for a specific course. In another approach, the ESL teacher and the classroom teacher team-teach in the same classroom. In still another model, the ESL teacher pre-teaches the material to be presented in the classroom, with the classroom teacher teaching the material to a classroom of students with varying English proficiency.
No matter what instructional model is used, federal law states that it is the classroom teacher's responsibility to teach ELLs, English Language Learners. If an ELL student is failing in a class the teacher needs to have written, dated documentation describing modifications in instruction, methodology, and assessment. In many instances, it is not the ELL who is failing to learn, it is the teacher who is failing to teach. The classroom teacher must modify the course content and the English language used, scaffolding instruction so that ELLs learn the overall basic concepts while they are developing their English Proficiency.
In addition to fourteen ESL teachers, the Fayetteville School District's ESL program has six highly qualified ESL instructional assistants. These instructional assistants assist in the teaching of ESL students at Asbell, Happy Hollow, Holcomb, Jefferson, Leverett, and Washington. Monday through Thursday these IAs work directly with students. On Fridays, they continue to work with students in their respective schools, unless they are needed elsewhere in the district. On Fridays, these IAs are available to translate for all district personnel. These individuals translate written documents and, given prior notice, they go to schools across the district in order to serve as translators for parent/teacher conferences.
In addition, the Fayetteville school district has a district translator/parent liaison who translates documents, forms, and letters as well as interprets at parent/teacher conferences, parent nights, meetings, etc. This individual also serves as a liaison between the ELL parents and the Fayetteville schools. She works to increase parent involvement in each school and the community.
The migrant education in the Fayetteville School District is another acceleration program designed to serve children of migrant workers. The migrant program provides dental, medical, vision, and tutorial services to eligible students. Students also receive school supplies and clothing through the migrant education program. Migrant students are offered services in reading, language arts, math, science, and social studies; however, the primary focus of instruction is in reading and math. Over three hundred students are served in the Fayetteville Migrant Education Program.
Instructional services are provided by highly qualified paraprofessionals. Many of these paraprofessionals are bilingual, providing much needed support in the student's native language. In addition to the services provided by the paraprofessionals, our district benefits from the services of a migrant education clerk and translator.
updated February 28, 2005