We are lucky here at Parkwood to have such rich diversity in languages spoken and cultures represented in our community of students and staff. We rightfully view it as a core strength of our school! The English language learning (ELL) program at Parkwood is designed to provide language support for students who speak languages other than English at home.  We work to develop academic language skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing in English to help each student access grade-level content. Our goal is to support students as they become bilingual and multilingual members of society!

All students who speak a language other than English at home take a language proficiency test called ELPA21 which assesses listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in English. This test determines whether or not a student qualifies for the program.  All ELL students take the ELPA21 test each February in order to assess their progress.

ELL teachers work together with classroom teachers to be sure each student receives the language support that is most appropriate for each child. We also work with students in small groups to focus on language development.  We use a variety of curriculum to support language development depending on each student’s individual needs.

Visit the Shoreline Schools Multilingual Learners/English Language Learners page for more information.