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Mechanicsburg Area School District

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Overview

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Welcome to the English Language Development webpage....
Mission Statement
 
The mission of the English Language Development (ELD) Program in the Mechanicsburg Area School District (MASD) is to provide non-native speakers of English with the support needed to achieve language proficiency and learning strategies to become successful in the mainstream classroom.  Instruction is designed to build academic language, using the curriculum to connect to prior knowledge and facilitate authentic learning opportunities.  The program is also designed to build social language by building relationships through heightened engagement in the school environment and therefore facilitating acceptance of differences in the world around us. The acquisition of social language and the building of self-confidence through meaningful relationships will allow English Learners to construct meaning that will transfer to the understanding of academic language needed to be successful participants in school and the community.
Educational Approach
 
All students of the MASD who 1) first spoke a language other than English; or 2) come from homes where a language other than English is spoken; or 3) speak in a language other than English will be eligible for the ELD services.  At the elementary level (K-6), instruction will take place in an ELD classroom and/or through a push-in program in mainstream Language Arts classes.  At the middle school and high school levels, instruction will take place in an ELD classroom and/or through a push-in program in mainstream Reading, Language Arts, or English classrooms.  Educational practices used with EL's will correlate with approaches used throughout the district in mainstream classes.
Program Goals
 
The ELD program goals are:
  1. To develop competency in comprehending oral and written English and in speaking and writing English
  2. To develop learning strategies
  3. To integrate language, cognitive, and academic instruction to enable students to develop English language proficiency and content area skills
  4. To orient students and parents to American culture, so that they may participate in school and community life
  5. To ensure that students retain pride in their culture
  6. To ensure that all staff in the district assume responsibility for the acculturation and instruction of ELD students