Bilingual Services
Students who indicate that their first language is not English when registering with Arlington Public Schools are given the WLPT II (Washington Language Proficiency Test), a placement exam, to determine eligibility for the ELL (English Language Learner) program. This placement test must be given within 10 days of the student's entry into the school district.
Each spring, all students qualified as English Language Learners in the school district must take the WLPT II assessment to measure progress in English language proficiency and to determine further eligibility.
The district bilingual services include:
- K-3 Dual Language Program - The Dual Language Program is an instructional model that employs two languages, English and Spanish. It adheres to Washington State's learning standards with both native English and Spanish speaking students working towards the common goal of becoming bilingual and biliterate in a shared learning environment.
- K-12 Sheltered Instruction - The Sheltered Instruction model integrates language and content instruction with the goal of providing access to grade-level content and English language proficiency.
- K-12 Newcomer Program - The Newcomer Program addresses the needs of recent immigrant students with limited or interrupted schooling in their home countries. Major goals of newcomer programs are to acquire beginning English language skills along with core academic skills and to acculturate to the U.S. school system.
