Saint Paul Public Schools offers the following services to the Latino Consent Decree students in grades K-12: ESL, Bilingual Content Support, Literacy Instruction, Latino Culture, and LCD Secondary.

English as a Second Language (ESL) Program

Through collaboration with general education teachers, ELL teachers teach language through content using district curriculum supported by second language acquisition strategies. Grade level content is taught and made comprehensible using scaffolding and a sheltered English approach to teaching. Small group intensive ESL instruction occurs in addition to large group instruction. The main focus of this inclusive model is collaboration in order to teach language and to make mainstream standards and curriculum accessible to ELL students at all levels.

Bilingual Content Support

Highly qualified LCD educational assistants in both elementary and secondary provide bilingual content support in the mainstream classroom. The focus of this service is to support Latino students, especially newcomers, during Readers or Writers Workshop and Math. Latino students in elementary and their families are also supported in math by having access to the district-adopted Everyday Mathematics K-6 curriculum available in Spanish. Additionally, the LCD program provides bilingual support through ELL bilingual teachers.

Literacy Instruction

Saint Paul Public Schools has six language programs in elementary that offer students literacy instruction in Spanish.  In kindergarten, students in these programs receive between 50-90% of their instruction in Spanish.  The amount of English is increased at each grade level in response to the student’s increased proficiency and literacy in English.  In programs that use native language literacy instruction as a bridge to learn English, all instruction beyond first grade is given in English. For instructional purposes, a balance is maintained between languages through sixth grade in programs that have bilingualism and biliteracy as a goal.

Early Exit Transitional Bilingual Programs

·   Cherokee Heights West Side School

·   Roosevelt West Side School of Excellence

Dual Language (Spanish-English) Immersion Programs

·   Bruce F. Vento Elementary

·   Paul and Sheila Wellstone Elementary

·   Riverview West Side School of Excellence

Spanish Immersion Program

·   Adams Spanish Immersion

Latino Culture K-3 and 4-6

In spring 2006 the Embedding Latino Culture in the K-3 Social Studies Curriculum was created. The main goal of this curriculum is to provide mainstream classroom teachers with educational tools to teach Latino culture and heritage to all students. All elementary schools were provided with at least one Latino culture kit.  The 4-6 kit was developed during the 2008-2009 school year and will be offered to schools starting in the 2009-2010 school year.

LCD Secondary Language and Culture

Secondary LCD students take high school courses in various academic subjects taught in Spanish and English. Courses include U.S. History, World History and English Language Arts. At some schools (Arlington, Humboldt, Harding and Highland Junior), content courses are offered in Spanish and include a cultural component as well. In these classes, students learn about their Latino history and culture both in English and in Spanish. Coursework is aligned with district standards to ensure that students learn the essential skills in the subject areas needed for graduation.

There are also classes offered at the secondary level that immerse students in Spanish language, Spanish for Spanish Speakers at Humboldt Junior and Latino Culture at Washington.