Emergent Bilingual/ ESL Program

 FORT SAM HOUSTON INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT

English as a Second Language Program

As part of registration, a Home Language Survey is completed for every student enrolling indicating the language spoken by the student and the family at home most of the time. If the Home Language Survey indicates a language other than English, the student will automatically be tested to determine if they qualify for services. If a student qualifies and enters the program, supports and accommodations are made available during daily instruction and state assessment to help them thrive socially and academically.

In FSHISD, each campus has an EB Campus Coordinator and Administrator dedicated to implementing a program that supports each EB in his or her English language acquisition until that student has reached an advanced level of English language acquisition and is exited from the program. The EB Coordinator leads the Language Proficiency Assessment Committee (LPAC) through the LPAC Framework each year.

• Elementary Administrator -
• Elementary Coordinator - Noemi Garcia
• Secondary Administrator - Dr. Joseph Cerna
• Secondary Coordinator - Rob Elizalde

English Language Learner Program Policy

To ensure all mandates are met, FSHISD has adopted policies in compliance with state and federal requirements. Their contents can be found in EHBE (LEGAL) and (LOCAL).

English Language Learner Program Instructional Supports

The elementary campus offers a content-based program, and the secondary campus offers a pull-out program to implement the English Language Proficiency Standards, a set of Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills that foster English Language acquisition.  Teachers providing instructional supports are English as a Second Language (ESL) certified or Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) trained. These credentials ensure all teachers can successfully implement supports to accelerate mastery of the English language.

At Fort Sam Houston Elementary School, ELL supports are provided by the ESL-certified classroom teacher and also the ESL coordinator, who co-teaches in the classroom and may pull students to offer more specific or scaffolded supports in a small group or individual environment. At Robert G. Cole Middle/High School, all English and Reading teachers are ESL certified, and all core subject teachers are SIOP trained. Students receive their support embedded in classroom instruction for core courses.