The mission of the English Language Development (ELD) Program in the Lakeland School District is to provide instruction and support to foster the linguistic, academic, personal and social growth of English Learners (ELs).

The purpose of the English Language Development Program (ELD)  is to create a culturally responsive and diverse environment where students acquire English, and are given the opportunity to develop the language skills necessary to communicate for social and academic purposes.  To meet this goal, instruction addresses the ELD and Pennsylvania Core Standards in the four domains:  Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening. Our belief is that instruction should be tailored to the individual needs of each student.   The ELD program aims to develop both basic interpersonal communication skills (BICS) and cognitive academic language proficiency (CALP), as described in the Basic Education Circulars (BEC) for ELs.

Program Goals:

• Facilitate English language acquisition through the skills of listening, speaking, reading, writing, and comprehension.
• Help students learn to use English effectively to participate and succeed in academic, social, extra-curricular, and community environments.
• Provide educational experiences that will prepare students academically, and will empower them with the skills and knowledge necessary to maximize their learning potential.
• Facilitate the acculturation process by exposing students to the customs, traditions, and behavioral expectations of their new surroundings.
• Orientate students and their families to the school and the community.
• Encourage students to continue to value and celebrate their cultural heritage, and maintain their native languages.