At Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School No. 9, we utilize a transitional model of bilingual education.  In accordance with the New York State Commissioner’s Regulation, Parts 154.1-3, our transitional bilingual program uses the students’ home language, Spanish (L1-first language), and English (L2-second language), for daily instruction in all grades from Pre-K to Grade 6.  Students are placed in either of two classrooms according to English Language Proficiency (ELP) and receive instruction according to their language proficiency classification.  For example, students with an ELP of Entering (Beginning)or Emerging (Low Intermediate), are placed in a classroom where they daily receive 80 minutes of English-as-a New Language (ENL), 40 minutes of Home/Spanish Language Arts (HLA) and 40 minutes each of two (2) bilingual content subjects.  Students with an ELP of Transitioning (Intermediate) or Expanding (Advanced), are placed in a different classroom where they receive 40 minutes of ENL, 40 minutes of HLA, and 40 minutes of one bilingual content subject.  Students classified as Commanding (Proficient), are placed in English mainstream classrooms and pulled out of their regular classrooms for 20 minutes of ENL once-a-week during the two years following the Commanding classification.

All English instruction aims to develop the four areas of language instruction:  Speaking, Listening, Reading, and Writing.  The ENL classes are taught as either Stand-Alone ENL or Integrated ENL/ELA to provide instruction in equal allocations of time (40 or 20 minutes), according to ELP.

The English language proficiency classification or ELP is determined according to diagnostic results of either the New York State Identification Test for English Language Learners (NYSITELL) - given at the time the student enters the district/state - or the New York State English as a Second Language Achievement Test (NYSESLAT) - administered at the end of every school year - for students who are classified as English Language Learners (ELL).  At the end of the school year, a Transition Team examines the ELP attained by each student as well as other language proficiency indicators and makes a determination as to which classroom the student will be placed in the following year – whether in the Entering/Emerging or the Transitioning/Expanding classroom.