The District's Bilingual and ESL Programs

For the December School Board meeting, our student achievement presentation focused on the district's Bilingual-English As A Second Language (ESL) programs. Each year, the district provides a review and presents an assessment of our programs in accordance with the state commissioner's rules.

Dr. Isabella Pina-Hinojosa, director of the district's Bilingual-ESL programs, outlined how C-FB ISD's programs are organized to meet our district's goal of high achievement for all students.

In studying the research of  Dr. Wayne Thomas and Dr. Virgina Collier on dual language instruction, the district's instructional team learned that the English reading performance of English Language Learners dramatically improved in dual language classrooms.  That is why we began moving to those models in our Bilingual classrooms.

In our elementary schools, we offer a one-way dual language Bilingual program for fluent Spanish speakers. In these classrooms, our students receive instruction in both English and Spanish.  

We also have elementary classrooms where English-speaking students and fluent Spanish-speakers receive instruction in two languages (English and Spanish). Our two-way dual language classes are available on two campuses:  Janie Stark and June R. Thompson Elementary Schools.

We have many different languages spoken in our Bilingual-ESL classrooms, and the primary objective of the teachers is to help our students learn the English they need so they can be academically successful in math, science, social studies and eventually become productive citizens.

The most recent survey indicated that other than English, our Bilingual-ESL students and their families speak 52 different languages.  Of course, Spanish is the language that most of our families speak other than English; the top three languages most frequently spoken are Vietnamese, Korean, and Telegu.

We provide multiple learning options for our English Language Learners.  In our elementary schools, most teachers have taken additional coursework to earn their ESL certification. By becoming ESL-certified, our teachers have learned additional strategies that helps understands the needs of English Language Learners. The ESL program provides intensive instruction that develops academic vocabulary orally, reading vocabulary as well as written comprehension skills in English.

In middle school, the district has a newcomer's course for students who have been in the country for less than 12 months.  We also provide ESL I, II and III classes as well as Read 180, a intensive online reading intervention program. In high school, we also provide a newcomer's course and specialized coursework for students who have been in an American school for four years or less.

The Learning the Language summer school
program is part of the district's |
Bilingual-ESL offerings.

C-FB ISD is known for its professional development.  In our annual staff survey, 93% of our staff said that the district provides the training they need to do their jobs effectively. And, the Bilingual-ESL Department has been offering such training to our staff who teach our students in these programs.  The STELLAR and GLAD professional development programs are designed to assist our teachers to improve the achievement of our English Language Learners in all subject areas.

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has designed the PBMAS (Performance-Based Monitoring Analysis System) to monitor the achievement of the English Language Learners.  C-FB ISD met the minimum standard for each testing group and content group for 2011.  In our district, we will analyze these results to see how we can improve the academic achievement of our English Language Learners.

We continue to make great strides in our Bilingual-ESL programs. We are committed to support the learning needs of our English Language Learners so they can achieve at high levels.  Remember in the Carrollton-Farmers Branch School District, we believe in high achievement for all students.

Department of Bilingual-ESL webpage


Bilingual Report