ELL Program Courses

When students arrive in the Vancouver School District they register at the Newcomer Welcome Center (NWC). Students who are not fluent in English will be given language assessments at the NWC. Gladstone places students into English Language Learner (ELL) program levels based on these assessments. Please note the following aspects of the ELL program:

• Students placed in ELL courses do not earn letter grades or percentages, therefore ELL courses listed on students’ term and final reports will not show any grades or percentages.
• Students do not earn graduation credits from ELL courses.
• ELL students will need to complete the BC Graduation Credits prior to graduating with a Dogwood degree. Please see page 1 of this guide for graduation credit details.

Gladstone offers the following ELL level progressions:

Level 1

Students placed into ELL level 1, based on NWC assessments, may be scheduled into grade-level Physical and Health Education (PHE), as well as Fine Arts and Applied Skills and Design courses of their choosing. They will also take the following Level 1 ELL classes:

• English (reading, speaking, listening focus)
• Writing
• Social Studies
• Science
• Math (based on math and language assessments, some students will be place in grade level math classes right away)

Level 2

Students may be placed in Level 2 ELL classes either because they have progressed from level 1 classes in Vancouver or based on their NWC assessments upon arrival. Level 2 ELL program students will be placed into grade 8, 9 or 10 Math based on their age. Students will also be placed in grade-level Physical and Health Education (PHE), Fine Arts and Applied Skills and Design elective courses. Students in grades 10 – 12 will need to begin working on the Graduation Requirements (see page 1 in this course guide). ELL level 2 students will also will also take the following three ELL Level 2 program classes:

• English
• Social Studies
• Science

Moving Between ELL Levels and Leaving ELL Courses

Based on language assessments done in class, students will be recommended to progress from level 1 to level 2 or from level 2 into regular classes. Student assessments will occur throughout the year, with formal assessment done in January and May. Language acquisition develops at various rates based on a number of factors. While many students will progress from one level to the next after one school year, some students may require additional time at their current level, whereas a few may progress faster. Student moves will mostly occur in alignment with the school year and be effective at the start of the school year in September.