Churchill school resources
ESL Staffing & Support
ESL is part of the English Department, and teachers in the department teach a variety of English Language Arts and ESL courses. Currently, there is one teacher at Churchill who has had formal ESL training. There is also a dedicated Educational Assistant with a background in ELL who works with the students one-on-one or in small groups during the students' ESL classes and sheltered courses. This same Educational Assistant is also responsible for conducting assessments of all ELL students.
Churchill has an International Students Coordinator who is responsible for ensuring that international students receive a school orientation. The position is also there to advise students regarding their international experience as students, and works closely with the guidance counsellors (for academic and personal advising) and home-stay contacts. The position also arranges special get-togethers for international students. Currently, there is no ESL/ELL coordinator, orientation, or any special clubs or initiatives for ELL students who are permanent residents.
Churchill's schedule is such that 45 minutes are allotted Monday to Thursday for tutorials, in which teachers may offer more personalized instruction for all students (not just ELL). Typical accommodations of students coded 301 (foreign-born ESL funded students), 302 (unfunded ESL students), or 416 (Visiting Student: Student from outside Canada receiving instruction in person or online [non funded]) are extra time for exams and writing assignments, and the possibility of writing in the Learning Centre. While some teachers allow students to use translators and dictionaries for classwork, students are not allowed to use these in testing situations.
Programming
In addition to the staff and support, a student's success is based largely on the course itself and the student's readiness (in terms of knowledge and skills, and, to a degree, attitude). Churchill assesses students' English proficiency to determine appropriate programming as soon as feasible.
ELL permanent residents in Calgary are required to go to Kingsland, where educators administer the MACII test to determine the student's benchmark level. The results from the Kingsland testing are sent to Churchill's secretary, who compiles this with their other school files, and records the student's benchmark level (provided that the testing results have arrived in a timely fashion). International students are received directly by Churchill and do not go through benchmark testing at Kingsland.
Additionally, all ELL students (international and permanent residents) are required to complete the CTBS. Using all available information about the student, the Educational Assistant determines whether to use CTBS 16 or 17/18, and also selects an appropriate writing assignment:
ICT
Considering that there is only one staff member dedicated to supporting all of the ICT at Churchill (~2000 students and ~100 staff), the hardware and software are quick and reliable with minimal downtime. Any additional hardware or changes/upgrades to either hardware or software would require a careful and consolidated effort. The school would benefit from hardware updates and an additional staff member dedicated to ICT and/or ICT-related training for teachers and support staff, but time- and budget-constraints simply do not allow for this.
ESL is part of the English Department, and teachers in the department teach a variety of English Language Arts and ESL courses. Currently, there is one teacher at Churchill who has had formal ESL training. There is also a dedicated Educational Assistant with a background in ELL who works with the students one-on-one or in small groups during the students' ESL classes and sheltered courses. This same Educational Assistant is also responsible for conducting assessments of all ELL students.
Churchill has an International Students Coordinator who is responsible for ensuring that international students receive a school orientation. The position is also there to advise students regarding their international experience as students, and works closely with the guidance counsellors (for academic and personal advising) and home-stay contacts. The position also arranges special get-togethers for international students. Currently, there is no ESL/ELL coordinator, orientation, or any special clubs or initiatives for ELL students who are permanent residents.
Churchill's schedule is such that 45 minutes are allotted Monday to Thursday for tutorials, in which teachers may offer more personalized instruction for all students (not just ELL). Typical accommodations of students coded 301 (foreign-born ESL funded students), 302 (unfunded ESL students), or 416 (Visiting Student: Student from outside Canada receiving instruction in person or online [non funded]) are extra time for exams and writing assignments, and the possibility of writing in the Learning Centre. While some teachers allow students to use translators and dictionaries for classwork, students are not allowed to use these in testing situations.
Programming
In addition to the staff and support, a student's success is based largely on the course itself and the student's readiness (in terms of knowledge and skills, and, to a degree, attitude). Churchill assesses students' English proficiency to determine appropriate programming as soon as feasible.
ELL permanent residents in Calgary are required to go to Kingsland, where educators administer the MACII test to determine the student's benchmark level. The results from the Kingsland testing are sent to Churchill's secretary, who compiles this with their other school files, and records the student's benchmark level (provided that the testing results have arrived in a timely fashion). International students are received directly by Churchill and do not go through benchmark testing at Kingsland.
Additionally, all ELL students (international and permanent residents) are required to complete the CTBS. Using all available information about the student, the Educational Assistant determines whether to use CTBS 16 or 17/18, and also selects an appropriate writing assignment:
- Level 1 or 2 (approx.) students are asked to write on 'your trip to Canada,';
- Level 3 or 4 (approx.) are asked to write about space travel or the pros and cons of technology (the latter is used more often and was created to avoid duplication, as Kingsland also uses the 'space travel' assignment); and
- Level 5 (approx.) are asked to write on globalization.
ICT
Considering that there is only one staff member dedicated to supporting all of the ICT at Churchill (~2000 students and ~100 staff), the hardware and software are quick and reliable with minimal downtime. Any additional hardware or changes/upgrades to either hardware or software would require a careful and consolidated effort. The school would benefit from hardware updates and an additional staff member dedicated to ICT and/or ICT-related training for teachers and support staff, but time- and budget-constraints simply do not allow for this.
- Venues & Hardware: Churchill is fortunate to have quick and reliable access to many computers housed in various labs and library rooms. Churchill also has a dedicated languages lab equipped with headsets and computers, which allows students to practice speaking and to hear themselves. Teachers who wish to use computers during class must book a lab (most of which have sufficient numbers of computers for class sizes) and arrange for students to meet there. A teacher can usually arrange for this, provided that s/he books at least several days in advance. There is one mobile laptop cart with 10 laptops, which is rarely, if ever, used.
- Software: All school computers and laptops have MS Office Suite, IE, and Google Chrome installed, and these tend to be most users' (students and teachers alike) 'go-to' applications for school-related work. Students have school-designated accounts (via the Calgary Board of Education) through Google, and so also use Google application versions of the MS Office Suite (e.g., Google docs - Word or Google Slides - PowerPoint) which have the additional functionality of enabling simultaneous collaboration and storage in the cloud. Additionally, many teachers and students use Brightspace/D2L, the CBE-endorsed Learning Management System.