RPDC MELL

Title III of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 requires school districts to identify language minority students, to assess progress in English proficiency, and to provide eligible children with services that would increase their English proficiency and their academic achievement. Click here for a definition of a Limited English Proficient Student.

To better serve English Language Learners (ELL) and migrant students, DESE set up its Migrant English Language Learners program in 2003. Each of the nine Regional Professional Development Centers has a MELL center, coordinated by a director at DESE headquarters in Jefferson City. To access the DESE MELL site, click here.

The St. Louis RPDC primarily serves the Missouri counties of St. Charles, St. Louis, Jefferson and the City of St. Louis. Due to its affiliation with Cooperating School Districts, districts in Gasconade, Lincoln, Warren, Franklin, Jefferson, Pike, Washington, North St. Francois are also eligible to participate in workshops. The MELL office is staffed with a migrant recruiter, Pendy Trujillo, and an instructional specialist, Sandra Anderson. The recruiter is responsible for identifying students who qualify for migrant services and working with schools to enroll them. The instructional specialist assists schools with ESOL programming and provides professional development for staff, teachers and administrators.

Definition Of Limited English Proficient Student

The term limited English proficient, when used with respect to an individual, means an individual:

• aged 3 through 21

• enrolled or preparing to enroll in an elementary school or secondary school

• not born in the United States or whose native language is a language other than English, or is a Native American or Alaska Native or a native resident of the outlying areas

• who comes from an environment where a language other than English has had a significant impact on the individual's level of English language proficiency or who is migratory, whose native language is a language other than English, and who comes from an environment where a language other than English is dominant

• whose difficulties in speaking, reading, writing, or understanding the English language may be sufficient to deny the individual

• the ability to meet the State's proficient level of achievement on State

assessments

• the ability to successfully achieve in classrooms where the language of

instruction is English

• the opportunity to participate fully in society

Links to Policies and Procedures

Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education MELL program

English Language Proficiency Standards PDF

Educating Linguistically Diverse Students DRAFT PDF

Procedures Template from UM-Columbia DRAFT

Links to ELL Resources

Center for Innovations in Education (CISE) serves as a statewide resource for educators of migrant, immigrant, and English language learners and their families. Many free resources.

http://www.cise.missouri.edu/mell/

The MELL Clearinghouse, located at the Center for Innovations in Education (CISE)

American Association of Applied Linguistics

About.com English as a Second Language

American Association of Applied Linguistics

American Educational Research Association

Center for Adult English Language Acquisition

(formerly National Clearinghouse for ESL Literacy Education)

The Center for Applied Linguistics

Cross Cultural Developmental Education Services

Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) Database

English Language Learners Knowledge Base