• Entry Criteria

    1. Children entering preschool as 3 or 4 year-olds must score at a level D or E on the Pre-I PT to be considered English language proficient. A student who scores below this proficiency level is considered limited English proficient and must be enrolled in ELL Program unless parents refuse ELL Services in writing.
    2. Children entering the first semester of Kindergarten must score at least a 5.0 composite oral proficiency level on the WIDA Screener Kindergartnen to be considered English language proficient. A student who scores below this proficiency level is considered limited English proficient and must be enrolled in ML Program unless parents refuse ELL services in writing.
    3. Children entering the second semester of kindergarten or the first semester of 1st grade must score an overall composite proficiency level of 5.0 on the WIDA Screener Kindergarten to be considered English language proficient. A student who scores below the minimum proficiency level is considered limited English proficient and must be enrolled in and receive services from the ML Program unless parents refuse ML services in writing.
    4. Children entering the second semester of 1st grade through 12th grade must achieve an overall composite proficiency level of 5.0 on the WIDA Screener to be considered English language proficient. A student who scores below an overall composite proficiency level of  5.0 on the WIDA Screener must be enrolled in the ELL Program unless parents refuse ELL services in writing.

    Exit Criteria

    According to lllinois School Code, a student must obtain an overall composite proficiency level of 4.8 composite proficiency level on the ACCESS for ELLs (Tier B or C) to be considered English language proficient. Students who meet or exceed these proficiency levels are exited from the ML program. 

    Monitoring of Students who have exited from the ML Program

    The state of Illinois requires school districts to monitor the academic performance of students who have exited the ML Program for the first two school years after exiting the program. District 204's monitoring plan consists of: 

    • Monitoring student standardized scores
    • Monitoring student grades at the end of the first, second, third and fourth quarters
    • Consultations with classroom teachers at the end of each quarter

    If any concerns arise about an exited student's academic performance, ML teachers meet with classroom teachers, guidance counselors, and/or parents to determine why the student is struggling and to establish appropriate interventions that can be put in place to help the student achieve greater academic success.