Multicultural Education Department Brochure/Folleto del Departamento de Educación Multicultural
Parent Guide/Guía Para Padres
Bilingual Community Liaison and Parent Hotline (English/Spanish)
The Multicultural Education Department has a Bilingual (English/Spanish) Community Liaison and a Parent Hotline. Mrs. Naira Alvira is available to address any questions or concerns regarding information about school related activities, events, resources, and special programs. The hotline is open between 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. The number to call is 407-870-4850.
District Level ESOL Parent Leadership Council Meeting
A Parent Leadership Council (PLC) is established at the district level. The representatives identified by each school are parents of students in the ESOL Program. The PLC meets to establish goals and enhance the school to district communication. The Multicultural Education Department facilitates and assists the council in conducting its meetings and training activities. The PLC at the district level addresses parent/guardian questions and concerns about ESOL Programs at every school, gives the Multicultural Education Department input/feedback on the District LEP plan, keeps parents of ELL students informed of the latest policies and issues affecting them and allows school-based representation at meetings. For more information, please contact the Multicultural Education Department at 407-870-4848.
English for Speakers of Other Languages Program (ESOL) Placement
Parents complete a Home Language Survey (HLS) at the time they register their children in the district. If there is an affirmative answer to any of the HLS questions, further assessment is completed to determine eligibility for the ESOL Program. Students who meet the eligibility criteria as a result of a screening process are served in the ESOL Program. An assessment model was developed for evaluating and placing all potential English Language Learner (ELL) students. The aural/oral test and the reading and writing subparts of a norm-referenced test used to determine eligibility into the program are approved by the Florida Department of Education.
ACCESS for ELLs 2.0
ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 is a secure large-scale English language proficiency assessment administered to Kindergarten through 12th grade students who have been identified as English language learners (ELLs). It is given annually in WIDA Consortium member states to monitor students' progress in acquiring academic English. ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 is only available to Consortium member states.
ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 is aligned with the WIDA English Language Development Standards and assesses each of the four language domains of Listening , Speaking, Reading, and Writing.
English Language Learner (ELL) Committee/Members
The ELL committee is a school-based committee which deals with all matters pertaining to ELL students. The function of this committee is to make recommendations on instructional programming and any other matters that affect the ELL student’s education. The ELL committee is composed of ESOL teachers, home language teacher (if any), administrator or designee, guidance counselor, social worker, school psychologist or other educator as appropriate for the situation. The parents are invited to attend all ELL committee meetings involving their child. For more information about the ELL committee at your school, please contact the ESOL Educational Specialist.
Parent Leadership Council at the School Level
A Parent Leadership Council (PLC) is established at every school that offers the ESOL Program. Members of the PLC are parents/guardians of ELL students in the ESOL Program, school administrators, guidance counselors, ESOL teachers, ESOL Educational Specialists and any other school personnel. Parental involvement is critical to student and program success. Through the PLC, the ESOL Educational Specialist will discover and direct parents’ talents and interests. Parents will be encouraged/invited to participate as volunteers, as members of the School Advisory committee and as cultural resources. Meetings are held one per semester at each individual school. For more information, please contact the ESOL Educational Specialist at the school.
