Skip To Main Content

English Learners & Bilingual Education

English Learner (EL) Program

In the Appleton Area School District, approximately 1,650 students qualify for our English Learner (EL) program. The EL program works directly with students at all elementary, middle, and high schools, including charter schools. At every grade level, the program uses a variety of instructional approaches to support English language development. 

  • Instructional Support:
    Students may receive intensive, small-group instruction with their EL teacher—either within their regular classroom or through pull-out sessions. Instruction focuses on developing English skills through content-area learning, with particular attention to academic literacy in listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

  • Home Language Support:
    Bilingual staff provide valuable support in students’ home languages to reinforce academic understanding and promote progress as they learn English.

  • Program Participation and Assessment:
    Participation in the EL program is voluntary and requires parent or guardian permission. Students are assessed annually to measure their English language progress. Exit from the program is based on assessment results and classroom performance.

Curriculum

Contact 

Amy Swick
CSI Coordinator of EL/Bilingual Education
(920) 852-5300 ext. 60234
email

Mission Statement

Provide high-quality instruction that enables students to attain English language proficiency, develop high levels of academic achievement, and meet the same challenging state academic standards that all children are expected to meet.

Did you know? While over 65 languages are spoken in our district, the most common languages spoken within our EL program are Spanish, Hmong, Swahili and Kinyarwanda, Dari and Farsi, and Chuukese.

Goals

  • Communicate effectively in oral and written English
  • Achieve a level of reading literacy commensurate with ability
  • Develop a mastery of learning processes inherent in American education including critical thinking skills
  • Develop positive listening skills and learn to use listening to synthesize information
  • Integrate newly-acquired linguistic skills into content subjects and areas outside of the EL / Bilingual setting
  • Achieve understanding of and comfort in the American culture
  • Maintain and develop native language literacy skills
  • Maintain, develop, and value the student's home culture

Collective Commitments

As an EL Department, we are collectively committed to ensuring all English Learners:

  • Achieve English proficiency in reading, writing, listening, and speaking in order to communicate and synthesize information effectively.
  • Integrate newly acquired language skills into content subjects and areas outside of the EL/bilingual setting.
  • Maintain, develop, and value their native language literacy, skills, and culture.
  • Build awareness of and toward the cultural norms and expectations of the American educational system. 

WIDA Standards

AASD's EL curriculum follows grade-level state content standards and the World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) Standards.

Standard 1: Social and Instructional Language
English language learners communicate for social and instructional purposes within the school setting. 

Standard 2: Language of Language Arts
English language learners communicate information, ideas and concepts necessary for academic success in the content area of language arts.

Standard 3: Language of Mathematics
English language learners communicate information, ideas and concepts necessary for academic success in the content area of mathematics. 

Standard 4: Language of Science
English language learners communicate information, ideas and concepts necessary for academic success in the content area of science. 

Standard 5: Language of Social Studies
English language learners communicate information, ideas and concepts necessary for academic success in the content area of social studies.