Welcome to Deer Park's ENL Program! ENL, or English as a New Language, is a language support program which helps students learn English. In Deer Park's ENL classes, students work on the four language modalities: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. See below for more information regarding the ENL program:
Why does my child receive ENL?
Upon registration, each family fills out a Home Language Questionnaire, or HLQ. This documents tells the district whether another language is spoken by the student and his/her family. Should the HLQ indicate that another language is spoken, Deer Park's ENL team conducts an individual interview with the child. Based on the student's responses, the ENL staff may use the NYSITELL (New York State Identification Test for English Language Learners) to determine the child's language proficiency level.
What are New York State's English Language Proficiency Levels?
Based upon a student's performance on the NYSITELL, he/she will identify as one of the following levels:
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Language Proficiency Level
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Implications
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Entering
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This student is a beginner. A student at the Entering level has great dependence on supports and structures to advance his or her academic language skills.
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Emerging
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This student’s language skills are at the low intermediate level. A student at the Emerging level has some dependence on supports and structures to advance his or her academic language skills.
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Transitioning
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This student’s language skills are at the high intermediate level. A student at the Transitioning level shows some independence in advancing his or her academic language skills
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Expanding
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This student’s language skills are advanced. A student at the Expanding level shows great independence in advancing his or her academic language skills.
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Commanding
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This student’s language skills are proficient. A student at the Commanding level is now designated as a Former ELL, and entitled to receive two years of continued ELL services.
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How often does my child receive ENL services?
For grades K-8:
Students who are Entering or Emerging receive a minimum of 80 minutes of daily ENL instruction. Students who are Transitioning or Expanding receive a minimum of 40 minutes of daily ENL instruction. Students who are Commanding receive ENL monitoring, which is the equivalent of a minimum of 20 minutes of daily ENL instruction.
For grades 9-12:
Students who are Entering receive a minimum of 120 minutes of daily ENL instruction. Emerging students receive a minimum of 80 minutes of daily ENL instruction. Students who are Transitioning or Expanding receive a minimum of 40 minutes of daily ENL instruction. Students who are Commanding receive ENL monitoring, which is the equivalent of a minimum of 20 minutes of daily ENL instruction.
What does my child do in ENL?
Students in ENL are meant to learn and practice English by means of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Depending upon the student's grade level, ENL teachers follow the same curriculum as the child's classroom or ELA teacher; these "Integrated ENL" classes simply add extra language support to these curricula. Additionally, if students are Entering or Emerging they also receive "Stand Alone ENL." These classes focus solely on language development.
How does my child "test out" of ENL?
Each year, students' English proficiency is assessed using the NYSESLAT (New York State English as a Second Language Achievement Test). This assessment measures student's English language proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. This assessment is used to determine a student's English Language Proficiency Level from year to year. It is also the only way for a student to exit the ENL program.
For additional information, please visit our Parent Information & Resources page!