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Curriculum & Instruction » Bilingual Education

Bilingual Education

The West New York Board of Education believes that all students be given the same opportunities to a thorough, efficient, and equitable education. Rather than lowering the bar of expectations, the West New York Bilingual Program affirms the need for all English Language Learners (ELL) to strive to higher levels of cognitive and effective excellence. In essence, it is the philosophy of the Bilingual Program that all students can and must learn maximally and creatively. Our English Language Learners must aim to attain higher order-thinking skills needed to not merely function, but also thrive in the technological twenty-first century.

Identified (K-12) English Language Learners will be enrolled in the Bilingual Program if his/her native language is Spanish, and the student has demonstrated limited and/or no skills in the English language.
The Bilingual Education Act requires students to be screened to determine the level of English language proficiency upon registration to the district. A state mandated language assessment is used as the primary vehicle to determine language proficiency. These children are to be identified in accordance with procedures by the state.
Children are taught by dually certified teachers in Bilingual/Bicultural and ESL education.
Children will follow the same curriculum as their monolingual counterparts; however, as a transitional program, special attention is given to the students' proficiency in both Spanish and English.
Bilingual teachers meet with parents at the beginning of the school year during "Open House" or Parents' Night. Parent/Teacher conferences are always available upon request. Evening Parent Workshops are provided during the school year.
Our district makes every effort to maintain the optimum teacher/student ratio in every bilingual classroom.
Yes. The West New York district makes an effort to hire fluent bilingual personnel. Every bilingual teacher in our program speaks both English and Spanish.
Yes. Bilingual students are offered the same educational opportunities as monolingual students in the district. They participate in physical education, art, music, and extra curricula activities.
Before and after school classes are offered to bilingual students. Selected bilingual students participate in a summer enrichment program, the Bilingual Emergency Assistance Model (BEAM).
The duration of a student receiving ESL services depends on a multiple criteria: a pre/post language assessment, teacher recommendation and academic achievement.
To learn more about the Bilingual Program you may contact the District Bilingual Supervisors, Mrs. Lissette Rodriguez (Grades K-6) and Mr. Jorge Perez-Barrios (Grades 7-12).