The Indiana Department of Education has recognized yet another P-H-M program as one of the state’s 200 Promising Practices celebrating Indiana's 200 years of statehood.
Identified programs, like the English Language Summer Academy (E.L.S.A.), are student-centered and focus on positively impacting students through innovative programming and activities that provide a high-quality learning environment and experience.
E.L.S.A. is an intensive three-week and is free-of-charge to every elementary student who has received ENL support services during the preceding school year. E.L.S.A. provides students guided practice in academic English--reading, writing, speaking, and listening in selected grade-level content areas. In the Summer 2016, the curriculum featured Reading/Language Arts (including informational writing and a novel study), hands-on STEM studies (Life Science, Engineering! Math, Coding), Theater (role playing), and Art (image making through the writing process). Our session culminated with a Family & Friends Finale with over 200 guests attending!
In 2014-2015, P-H-M renewed focus on best practices for supporting the District’s English language learners, capitalizing on what our students can do, and seeking to move them more purposefully through the English language acquisition process. With the initial launch of
E.L.S.A. in the summer of 2015--and after extensive ongoing training opportunities for professional ENL staff, ENL Instructional Aides, and General Education teachers---70% of our ELLs increased a minimum of one proficiency level on the 2016 WIDA ACCESS for ELLs. The state average for growth in proficiency is around .5 level. In addition, 87% of our ELLs passed the 2016 I-READ 3 assessment. Parent involvement has also risen dramatically with our outreach and new ENL programming.
P-H-M’s ELSA Promising Practice will be shared with educators across the state of Indiana as an example of best practices that are having a positive impact on Hoosier students. Other P-H-M programs that were named Promising Practices in 2016 include: the Visual Arts Academy, “Hablo Arte,” Discovery Middle School and P-H-M’s safety and security measures.
Additional information about the Promising Practices initiative can be found on the IDOE’s website.
