English Language Development (ELD)
SMS offers several support options for our emerging bilingual/biliterate students. Placement in English Language Development (ELD) and English Language Support (EL Support) courses is determined by local and state test scores, as well as grades in English Language Arts. Placement in AVID Excel is determined by AVID performance indicators, student application, and AVID interview results.
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ELD 1 |
ELD 1 is a course that helps students develop Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS) for social interactions, and integrates language acquisition into academic environments. Through quality instruction and activities, the course covers English language patterns, grammatical structures, and foundational skills in all four modalities: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The class engages newcomers with purposeful expressions to help the student thrive academically in US schools. This course is designed for recent arrivals to the country and students who have been in the US educational system for less than two years. |
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ELD 2 |
ELD 2 is a course that continues the work of ELD 1, bolstering Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS) while progressing towards Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP). The course reinforces communicative and academic vocabulary, language patterns, grammatical structures and oral skills, while focusing on the areas of reading and writing. This course is designed for newcomers (less than 3 years in the US) who have had scholarly exposure to English, or students who have completed ELD 1. |
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EL Support |
English Language Support classes offer Long Term English Language Learners (LTELs) the opportunity to continue their path toward mastering the English Language. The course is designed to help LTELs accelerate Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency and develop skills they will need to be successful in both school and life. The course builds students’ confidence through consistent instructional routines that focus on vocabulary, syntax, grammar, collaborative discussions, and reading and writing, all the while building connections with their English Language Arts content. |
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Avid Excel |
This branch of the AVID program is specifically designed for recently reclassified English learners, or English Learners pending reclassification. Students will utilize Writing, Inquiry, Collaboration, Organization, and Reading (WICOR) strategies to foster success in all their academic courses. AVID Excel is a rigorous college readiness course that promotes access to higher education and career for underrepresented groups. Participants in the course may take field trips to local colleges, businesses and to meaningful community events. Students interested in AVID must submit a completed application and be interviewed in the spring. |
Notification of Non-Discrimination Policy
The Sunnyvale School District is committed to providing equal opportunity for all individuals in education. District programs, activities, and practices shall be free from unlawful discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and bullying, including discrimination against an individual or group, on the basis of actual or perceived ancestry, color, national origin, sex, age, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender expression, gender identity, actual or potential marital or parental status, pregnancy, actual or potential family status, physical or mental disability, nationality, race or ethnicity, ethnic group identification, medical condition, genetic information, homelessness or foster status; a perception of one or more of such characteristics; or association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics.