Mission: To facilitate the acquisition of communicative and academic English, academic content and cultural knowledge to enable English Language Learners (ELLs) to succeed in mainstream classes and in U.S. communities as quickly as possible.

Purpose: The population of ESOL students in the Greenwich Public Schools has grown dramatically in the last 34 years. We recognize this diversity as a resource for our district and we celebrate it. These students come from a variety of backgrounds and circumstances: some are immigrants, some are on foreign assignments, some are refugees and some are native-born Americans of different language heritages. Some come with extensive formal academic experiences and others with interrupted or delayed school background.

To meet the needs of our students the ESOL program:

•    promotes growth in English language proficiency
•    enhances cognitive development
•    facilitates academic achievement
•    encourages cultural and social adjustment
   
We provide:

•    comprehensive English for Speakers of Other Language instruction in all language skills: reading, writing, listening and speaking, critical thinking.

•    content area instruction  that is academically challenging and
    integrated with the GPS content curriculum but tailored to the student’s
    linguistic proficiency, educational background and academic needs.

•    professional learning for all staff members to help them facilitate the academic growth of linguistically and culturally diverse students.