The MLD supports linguistically and culturally diverse students and their families. Sturgis believes that students’ languages and cultures are valuable resources to be tapped and incorporated into schooling.
The MLD supports linguistically and culturally diverse students and their families with a well-developed support system that focuses on building a solid foundation for students’ long term success.Â
Our staff focuses on identifying students who require special attention from teachers and staff in order to develop solid English language skills.
The MLD staff helps teachers incorporate language development strategies in their instruction through professional development, helping teachers earn SEI Endorsement, and coaching individual teachers.
Sturgis offers small ELD classes as well as push-in support for ELs while developing individualized goals and instructions that encourage students to develop solid foundational English language skills.
In the English Learner (EL) program, the “push-in†model refers to how ELs are supported in their content classes. The ESL teacher, as an expert in language acquisition, spends time in the content classes supporting EL students with comprehension and language development. In addition, the ESL teacher is a support for content specific SEI teachers by helping teachers create accommodations and modifications based on language levels, develop language objectives, and incorporate differentiated opportunities for reading, writing, speaking and listening. The ESL teacher and subject area teacher are in communication about an EL’s individual goals, needs, and progress.
At Sturgis, communication with families via email and our website is automatically translated into Spanish and Portuguese. In addition, using home language surveys from our incoming student form, we identify all families that have requested translation or interpretation in a language other than English. We use translators and interpreters for progress report comments, parent meetings, parent-teacher conferences, IEP meetings, communication from the guidance department, incoming student forms, and whatever else is beneficial for the individual family.
The same services that we provide for our EL and FEL students in 9th and 10th grade are available for all students classified as ELs and FELs who are taking 11th and 12th grade IB classes. This includes an ESL course, support in content classes, and certain accommodations on IB exams (such as the use of a word-to-word dictionary).
English Learners (ELs) participate in English as a Second Language (ESL) class as well as their content and elective classes. Their language skills are monitored in ESL through observation as well as formative and summative assessments. ESL progress reports are generated each semester to reflect on and report on an EL’s progress in speaking, listening, reading, and writing. ELs are also observed in their content classes by the ELL coordinator various times throughout the year and participate in an annual assessment, called the ACCESS test, that helps determine their language proficiency level in each language domain.
Fill out the adjacent form, and a member of the Sturgis staff will reach out as soon as possible to help answer it. You can also give us a call at the numbers located below during normal school hours.
Sturgis East Main Office: (508) 778-1782
Sturgis West Main Office: (508) 771-2780