Federal law requires that Georgia and local districts take whatever action is necessary to overcome the language barrier that faces English Language Learner students (ELL). School districts are mandated to establish an alternative program for ELL students that is non-discriminatory, and that is based on pedagogically sound educational theory and practice. It is the district's responsibility to comply with all legal mandates related to limited English proficient students. All English Language Learners must have full access to the district's instructional programs, and at the same time have the assistance needed to become proficient in academic English. 

The Floyd County School System provides support for its English Language Learners. The program is English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), the language of instruction is English. The native language of the student is used only for clarification and not for instruction. There are four full-time certified ESOL teachers serving the majority of ELL students in this district. In addition, content area/classroom teachers are trained and meeting the needs of ELL students. The district is exploring ways to better serve all of our ESOL population. 

Description of Services

In some instances the ESOL teachers and classroom teachers may place students on monitoring status. Both the ESOL teacher and the classroom teachers closely monitor those students. Should these students encounter academic difficulties, appropriate steps are taken to accommodate their needs.  In some cases the student may be reassigned to ESOL classes.  In other instances, it may be necessary to design another kind of instructional program for the students. This might include after school tutoring, Intersessions or special modifications in the classroom.

The ESOL teacher is the person who is responsible for documenting the progress of the students in both ESOL and classes through frequent contact with the classroom teacher.

In addition to keeping documentation of each student's academic and linguistic progress, the ESOL teacher is responsible for maintaining the ESOL students' individual program record as well as providing documentation of each student's testing record.