Language Philosophy

Mission:

Eastside High School seeks to build community among our highly diverse students and their families, whether they come from different neighborhoods in Gainesville or from countries and cultures around the world.  All members of our school family-parents, students, faculty, and support-staff will show respect and encouragement for each other. We believe that high quality learning thrives in this environment of admiration, open-mindedness, and cultural and linguistic diversity.

The mission of the Eastside High School community is that all students develop the skills and knowledge necessary for them to survive, learn, adapt, and grow- leading to a lifelong pattern of responsible global citizenship.

Beliefs:

• Students, supported by families, faculty, and school staff, will participate in learning both skills and knowledge across all the subject areas.

• All students are language learners, and all teachers are language instructors, supporting meaningful communication among all stakeholders. Each student makes unique contributions to our diverse community of language learners.

• Eastside’s distinctive mix of programs will be maintained and properly managed in the best interest of all students.

• The school community acknowledges and celebrates the cultural and linguistic diversity of Eastside High School and is committed to providing a learning community that promotes and supports language diversity.

• Language learning is crucial to the intellectual development of our students.  We value and encourage continued learning in the students’ primary languages, the language of our state and country, and other languages.

Language Policy

Classroom Instruction

All instruction at Eastside High School, other than in world language, is facilitated in English.  The vast majority of our students are fluent in English when they enroll at our school.  Those who have not passed the English proficiency test are provided with support in accordance with laws pertaining to English Language Learners (ELL) as well as the policies of our county. All teachers have had training in ELL teaching techniques as required by Florida law.  Many of them have completed course work in ELL and are aware of the challenges faced by those who are not fluent in the language of instruction. 

In Eastside’s IB program, there are many students who are fluent in other languages in addition to English.  Other languages could include students’ home country languages, ones they have learned from parents, for fun, or through travel experiences.  For these students, we provide the opportunity to take Language A1 self-taught.  In this manner, we encourage their continued fluency and development.

In order to support our diverse population, the school library provides books in French and Spanish. Our CAS Coordinator promotes multi-lingual experiences among our students, and we encourage student participation in International Day events. Parents are involved in continued language development and are encouraged to share the languages they speak with their children and our student body.  In addition, because our student population is so diverse, students are often able to converse with other native speakers in languages other than English. For example, the IB Coordinator will organize social language groups during common lunch times.  

French and Spanish Instruction

As part of the Diploma program, students in the International Baccalaureate Program at Eastside are required to study either French or Spanish.  French B and Spanish B are language acquisition courses designed to provide students with the language skills and cultural understanding necessary for effective communication in the second language.  Students are encouraged to use the language both inside and outside the classroom in order to contribute to their knowledge of the world and to allow them to communicate effectively in settings where the languages are spoken.  Students are taught the four skills of language acquisition:  listening, speaking, reading, and writing, and lessons include teacher-centered instruction as well as collaborative learning.  Students are encouraged to use their language skills to conduct research on topics of interest to them. They use the skills they have acquired in class as well as the media literacy they have developed in all their courses in order to carry out this research.

Teachers of French and Spanish belong to professional language organizations and frequently attend conferences and workshops to keep abreast of new pedagogical methods in second-language instruction.   

The language committee, which includes teachers, students, media staff, parents, and administrators, will convene once a year in order to review the language policy and to suggest any changes deemed beneficial.  Any member of the school may contact the committee in order to propose modifications to this document.

Rules and Regulations

Eastside High School complies with all state and national guidelines for ELL students.  Teachers and staff members also adhere to procedures for students with specific learning disabilities or other handicaps.  For these students, a special plan of action is instituted, such as the “504 plan” in order to ensure maximum language development.  Teachers are aware of and implement differentiation strategies for students with special needs.

In accordance with the guidelines provided by the International Baccalaureate program as stated in the guide, the program coordinator and teachers meet to ensure that students are appropriately placed in the Language B classes.  One important consideration is the level of competency already achieved in the language in question.  Because the guide states that “the most important consideration is that the course should be a challenging educational experience for the student”, it is recommended that students who speak French or Spanish at home not study that language but instead be placed in the language which they do not speak as a native tongue. In this manner, the Eastside community promotes multilingualism whenever possible. However, in order to allow native speakers to develop proficiency in French or Spanish, they may study that language as A1 self-taught.

Last updated December 2024