English Language Education

ELE students in North Andover have access to all academic support programs such as Title I, Special Education and tiered classroom interventions. They also have access to extra-curricular activities that are available to all students. There are many offerings at our schools, and the guidance staff, principals and ELE staff encourage our ELE students to participate in the many school-sanctioned events.

These pages are designed so that parents, students and teachers are able to easily access the information they need to help out EL students achieve academic success.

When a student registers for school in the North Andover School District,  as part of the registration process, the parents complete a Home Language Survey if English is not the first language spoken at home.  If the home language survey indicates the student’s first language is not English, then the ESL teacher will test the student’s English to see if the student qualifies for ESL services. In addition, a student’s English may also be tested if the student’s teacher believes that the student is unable to perform ordinary classwork in English.

At the beginning of each school year, the ESL teacher will send a notification letter home, as required by state law, to those students who still qualify for ESL services. Parents can have their child opt out of ESL services at any time by signing an opt-out form. Students will leave or transition out of the ESL program when their English proficiency test scores and classroom grades indicate that they can fully participate in all grade level classwork.

Once the student is in the ESL program, he/she will be given English language support from a licensed ESL teacher. This support may be in the form of small group work outside the classroom or individual tutoring. The ESL teacher has a curriculum designed to support the work the student is doing in class. Please call the ELE Program Coordinator, Kristen Ando, at 978-794-1503 X41313.

All ELE students are tested in English proficiency in January using the WIDA ACCESS. WIDA stands for World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment. ACCESS stands for Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State-to-State. It is an organization that has developed standards and assessments for states to use with their ELE students. Massachusetts has been a member of the WIDA consortium since 2012. You can find more information about WIDA at their website https://wida.wisc.edu

Results from ACCESS testing are received in late spring of each year and results are sent home to parents before the end of the school year. English proficiency levels range from level 1, which is called Emerging and would be considered an early beginner, to level 6, which is called Reaching which indicates that the ELE student is ready to exit the ELE program. In addition, ELE  students are responsible to participate in and pass the MCAS test. (ELE students are provided with DESE approved word-to-word dictionaries and glossaries).

If you have any questions about the ELE testing process, please feel free to contact the EL Coordinator, Kristen Ando, at 978-794-1503 X41313.

• Home Language Survey (select survey from the top of this page)
• ELE Program Reclassification Forms
• Opt-Out Form
• Monitoring Academic Progress of Opt-Out Students
• Initial/Annual Parent Notification
• Monitoring Academic Progress of FEL Students

Some forms are available in other languages. For a complete list of available forms, please see the Massachusetts Department of Education's website.

Our ELE Program is designed to help students learn English as a second language as they continue to advance their studies in the regular education program. It is our goal that your child acquires sufficient skills in English to enable him/her to participate effectively in the regular education program without EL services. The ELE Program recognizes that students learn English at different rates. The program intends to transfer students out only when they are fully ready.

The ESL Curriculum in North Andover is based on the WIDA English Language Development (ELD) Standards and is aligned to the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks through the Common Core. ELL students are assessed using the ACCESS assessment tool in January.

The North Andover Public School District uses a comprehensive, research-based curriculum created by National Geographic and Hampton Brown and recommended by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.  At the K-5 level, Avenues provides academic vocabulary development, accessible reading selections and multi-level teaching strategies. Grades 6 through 8 use Inside, and students focus on the development of speaking and listening skills.  Students in grades 9 through 12 use Edge which gives students access to high school standards with specialized instruction in building reading and writing skills.