Becky Marrs
ESL Coordinator
bmarrs@perrycountyschools.us
Perry County School System
Plan for Hiring Teachers working with English Learners
All teachers of any language instruction program for English Learners (ELs) need to be fluent and competent in the four domains of language assessed by the English Language Proficiency Assessment: reading, writing, speaking and listening. If personnel have been previously hired without these skills, the district needs to offer help to build the needed fluency.
A teacher’s fluency in listening and speaking is documented and evaluated during the interview process. One person in the interview is responsible for noting listening mistakes, miscues, grammar and syntax mistakes, and judge the level of fluency for both speech and listening.
Reading may be evaluated through the reading and responses that show understanding of the application process. Reading may be satisfied through the college transcript if from an English speaking university. Perry County School System may also use a shelf reading comprehension assessment, if deemed necessary by the system director.
The application for employment with Perry County School System requires a writing sample to demonstrate competency in writing. The topic may vary. This sample is done on site so that the interviewee will have no outside editing.
The exact requirement from the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 is
“TEACHER ENGLISH FLUENCY – Each eligible entity receiving a subgrant under section 3114 shall include in its plan a certification that all teacher in any language instruction educational program for limited English proficient child that is, or will be, funded under this are fluent in English and any other language used for instruction, including having written and oral communications skills.” [3116 (c)]
Perry County School System may also have an assessment designed or contract with an outside agency for this screening. This will be used at the discretion of the director of schools as deemed necessary.