The Vestal Central School District’s English as a New Language (ENL) program supports English learners as they acquire social and academic language proficiency. The district celebrates the tremendous linguistic, ethnic and religious diversity of its students and their families. At Vestal, we believe exposure to such diversity enriches the experiences of all students.
Vestal’s ENL program promotes linguistic and academic excellence by creating a culturally responsive instructional environment that builds upon students’ prior knowledge, skills, talents, interests and experiences. English learners are assigned to regular classrooms with peers whose first language is English. Our program includes both “integrated” and “stand-alone” English as a New Language services. In the integrated setting, ENL teachers collaborate with a teacher in another subject area to provide language support in the regular classroom. In most cases English learners also leave the regular classroom for part of the day in order to receive “stand-alone” instruction by a certified ENL teacher. The duration of stand-alone instruction is based on their language level. This instruction generally occurs in small groups with other English learners who have similar needs. The precise focus of stand-alone instruction depends on the unique linguistic and academic needs and interests of English learners.
Vestal Central School District currently offers English as a New Language programs at the following schools:
- African Road Elementary
- Vestal Hills Elementary
- Vestal Middle School
- Vestal High School
New registrants requiring English as a New Language services who live in the attendance zones for Clayton Avenue Elementary, Glenwood Elementary or Tioga Hills Elementary Schools will attend African Road Elementary while they are eligible for those services.
We, at Vestal, regard the ability to speak, understand, read and write more than one language as a strength that expands students’ horizons. We are proud of the fact that our students speak over 30 languages other than English. The district encourages the families of English learners to maintain their home languages. Doing so provides many cultural, academic and cognitive benefits. For example, research has shown that developing competence in another language can actually help students learn English more easily. The district celebrates bilingualism and is currently seeking new ways to encourage and support students in attaining biliteracy. However, because the district does not have large numbers of students at a given grade level who speak the same language, Vestal does not currently offer any bilingual education programs.
At Vestal, we believe that students learn and grow most when educators, parents and community organizations work together. We are glad to be your partner in education! In order to better support you and your children, we have provided links to additional resources and information in the right menu of this web page.
For additional assistance, including help with translation, please contact Dr. Andrew M. Blaine, Director of Instruction.