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English as a New Language

Blue Banner with the words 'English as a New Language'
department picture

Mission:

The mission of Newtown High School’s ENL Department is to provide high quality instruction to English Language Learners so that they may become active participants in both social and academic settings. We equip students with language skills and cultural understanding necessary to attain academic achievement in all content areas and to meet their educational and professional goals.

 

Diploma Requirements:

Students are able to take English Language development courses until they score Commanding on the NYSESLAT. All newcomers take an assessment and are then placed in the appropriate level. Continuing ELLs take the New York State English as a Second Language Achievement Test (NYSESLAT) every May to be reevaluated and placed into their appropriate language levels in September.  All students must earn 8 ELA credits to graduate.
 

Courses:

Explore Our Course Options:

 
  • 9-10 grade SIFE/ ELA Entering Stand Alone- Bridges Curriculum
  • 9-10 grade ELA/ENL Co-taught - Entering/Emerging 
  • 9-12 grade English Support Stand-Alone- All Language proficiencies levels
  • 9-12 grade Science/ENL Co-taught - All Language proficiencies- New Visions Curriculum 
  • 11-12 grade Regents Prep - All Language proficiencies levels
 
ENL Language Proficiency Levels
ENL Levels

 

Regents and College Prep:
All courses focus on developing listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills through engaging content and instruction. Every student must pass the English Regents Exam to graduate.  

 
Curriculum:
 
Our curriculum aims to support students in their content class and prepare them for college and career success. This is accomplished through a range of inclusive and culturally responsive unit themes that require students to think critically and develop academic reading and writing skills.  Students are engaged in daily discussions on topics such as Human Rights and Immigration, Global Warming and Fossil Fuels, Women's rights and Free speech, just to name a few. Through reading grade level texts students develop academic skills such as annotation, inferencing, understanding vocabulary from context, analyzing author's perspective and delineating an argument. In our SIFE/ELA classes, the Bridges Curriculum supports newcomer students with limited formal education by building foundational literacy, language, and content skills. Through thematic units, visuals, and collaborative activities, students strengthen their reading, writing, listening and speaking skills.
 
In our ENL/ELA classes, students are reading a wide variety of contemporary and diverse authors of fiction that reflect our student population. Our curriculum aims to expose students to literary analysis of characters, points of view, conflicts, themes, figurative language, and other literary elements.  In our ENL/SCIENCE classes, the New Vision Science Curriculum supports students to explore key science concepts through hands-on experiments, visuals, and interactive lessons while building vocabulary, reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills in English. The course emphasizes making scientific ideas accessible to multilingual learners through scaffolded instruction, language supports, and real-world applications.   
 
We prepare students to successfully pass NYS regents exams and give them necessary skills to succeed in life as true citizens of the world.
 
Assistant Principal: Charlene Nieves
Department Office: Room 255
Contact Info:  [email protected]
                           718-595-8550