The Carroll Community School District (CCSD) Board of Education heard from the instructors that implement the English as a Second Language (ESL) program for the district during Monday night’s meeting. The ESL team consist of Daniel Cordova Gonzalez who teaches 5th through 12th grade students and Connie Ankenbauer who works in the elementary buildings. Cordova says those students enrolled come from 11 different heritages and speak six various native languages.
While ESL is the name of the program, an English Language Learner (ELL or EL) is what the student is called that is participating. Often the two are believed to be interchangeable. Each school district has a Lau Plan, which is a required document that outlines how ELs educational needs are identified and served. To be enrolled in the program, Cordova says a home language survey is given, asking what the primary language used at home, the one most spoken by the student and which language the student first acquired. Following the survey, is a ELPA21 Dynamic Screener that occurs within the first three weeks of the student starting school.
Once students reach proficient levels in all areas, they graduate from the program but are continually screened for two years to ensure progress. It can take on average five to seven years for students to reach proficiency. Ankenbauer says there are two types of Els that require more support from ESL: newcomers who have only been learning the English language for less than three years and Students with Limited Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFE).
Often times, ELs are adjusting to moving to a new country, coping with possible trauma, all while trying to learn a new language, customs and social expectations while keeping up academically. Director of Student Services Crystal Boes says the ESL program strongly supports the district mission statement of “Inspiring Learning and Excellence for All.”
CCSD EL data from the 2024-25 school year shows that a total of 64 students were enrolled in ESL throughout the district, with ten that scored proficient and exited the program.
