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English As A New Language (ENL)

The English as a new language (ENL) program at The East Ramapo Central School District offers intensive instruction to students whose first language is not English and who have limited English proficiency. Students learn to understand, speak, read and write English via academic subjects in a supportive and non-threatening environment. The program allows our English language learners (ELL) students to learn English and make the necessary academic and social adjustments. The goal of the program in the high schools is to prepare the ELL students to meet the academic challenges of mainstream in English, math, science and social studies, leading to successful completion of the New York State high school diploma requirements.

Courses in English as a new language (ENL) are offered at the Entering, Emerging, Transitioning, Expanding and Commanding levels. These multi-level courses are specifically designed to develop English language proficiency skills as they apply to the New York State Bilingual Common Core Language Progressions.

The English Language Learner with Interrupted Formal Education (SIFE) Program

The Bilingual SIFE Program is designed for ELL students who:

  • come from a home where a language other than English is spoken and enter a school system in the United States after grade two;
  • upon enrollment, have had two years less schooling than their peers;
  • function at least two years below expected grade level in reading and in mathematics; and
  • may be pre-literate in their first language.

In addition, SIFE students may be offered one additional period of Native Language Arts, which provides them with opportunities to further develop and increase their native language literacy skills through intense practice of the four language modalities (listening, speaking,

The Bilingual SIFE Program at Spring Valley High School

The Bilingual SIFE Program at Spring Valley High School integrates the four language skills (listening, reading, speaking and writing) in all the ENL classes that the students attend. An ELL student placed in the Bilingual SIFE program receives instruction that covers English as a new language and home language arts for the needed literacy skills as well as the content-area subjects (mathematics, science, and social studies in the home language).