Both schools offered Sheltered English instruction to their South East Asian LEP students. Linda Vista Elementary School provided primary language support from aides fluent in Hmong, Lao, and Vietnamese, as well as from a Vietnamese bilingual teacher. See Box I-3.1 for an illustration of how Linda Vista adapted its program in response to changing school demographics. Exemplary schools must also consider newcomer LEP students, those students who immigrated to the United States after the early elementary grades. Significant numbers of newcomers impacted the programs at several schools.
Newcomers often arrive with varying levels of literacy and previous schooling.
Some have gaps in their education which compound their need for language development and support as they adjust to a new cultural environment. Some students arrive with more serious issues resulting from exposure to war, extreme poverty, and political upheaval. 2 Linda Vista Elementary School, Hanshaw Middle School, Wiggs Middle School, and Graham and Parks School experienced a continuous inflow of new immigrants with varying levels of previous schooling and literacy in their primary language. Hollibrook, Del Norte, and Horace Mann schools received new immigrant students at a slower, but nonetheless steady, pace at all grade levels. Box I-3.1 Linda Vista Responds to the Changes in the Language Development Needs of their Students Linda Vista's ability to adapt their program for LEP students in response to shifts in community demographics represents a major strength of their restructuring process.