New Brunswick Public Schools

• To provide instruction and support in the student’s native language in all subjects and content areas in which a child is required to receive by law, rule, or regulation.
• To instill self-assurance, confidence and cultural pride in students.
• To facilitate the transition of students from the Bilingual/ESL Program to the General Education Program when they are ready as determined by multiple criteria and the State Code.
• To ensure that all Multilingual Learners make yearly progress toward English proficiency as measured by New Jersey State mandated ACCESS 2.0® Test.

Bilingual Transitional Program

The NBPS Bilingual Transitional Program helps students access grade level standard based content in Spanish while developing English Language skills needed to transition into a monolingual classroom. The program serves primarily students who have English language proficiency (ELP) levels of 1-3.  Students with ELP levels 1 and 2 receive instruction mostly in Spanish provided by a certified bilingual teacher. Level 1-2 students also receive English language Arts instruction daily. Spanish instruction gradually transitions to English instruction as students reach ELP levels 3 or higher. 

Students with ELP Level 3 receive instruction in English with Spanish support provided by a certified bilingual teacher.  

All transitional bilingual students receive English as a Second Language (ESL) on a daily basis for 40 minutes. The ESL teacher pushes-in during English Language Arts instruction and collaborates with the classroom teacher to work with the students to enhance student academic performance and promote differentiated instruction. 

Multilingual Learners in the Transitional Bilingual Program interact with non-multilingual learners during non-academic activities such as lunch and recess. They also have opportunities to interact with no-multilingual learners during extended-day school programs, basic skills instruction, and other school events

Dual Language Bilingual Program

The purpose of the Dual Language program  is to promote language acquisition in two languages simultaneously while students have access to grade level content standards. It is a full-time program of instruction that provides  content instruction in English and Spanish. This program is designed to help students achieve language proficiency, biliteracy, and bilingualism in English and Spanish while mastering subject-matter skills.

Two teachers with either a bilingual certification or ESL certification  are assigned to each grade level in the Dual Language Program. This program includes multilingual learners and native-English speaking students who remain in this program for five years, from Pre-K to 5th Grade.

Students in the Dual Language Program follow the district approved curricula in both Spanish and English. Content classes are taught in either English or Spanish in a 50/50 language allocation model on a daily basis following a rollercoaster schedule.  For example, a class that starts the day with English instruction (English World) will have Spanish instruction (Spanish World) in the afternoon. The following day the same class will start with Spanish and end with English.  

English Language Arts and Mathematics are taught in English. Spanish Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies are taught in Spanish. English as a Second Language (ESL) is taught by the ESL teacher who pushes-in for 40 minutes a day following a co-teaching model.  

Multilingual Learners in the Dual Language Program interact 100% of the time with non-multilingual learners in academic and non-academic activities throughout the school day.  Students interact during regular classroom instruction, extended school programs, and special area subjects like Physical Education, Health, Art, Music, Library and Media, and World Languages. Students also have additional opportunities to interact with non-multilingual learners during non-academic times like lunch and recess and other school activities and events.

Bilingual/ESL Testing & Placement Center

All newly arrived students to the U.S.A. who speak a language other than English are tested for proper placement by the ESL and World Language Specialists at our Bilingual/ESL Testing and Placement Center. The following documents are recommended but not mandatory for placement:

• School Report Card & History ( if available)
• Completed School Registration Form
• Birth Certificate 
• Previous school documentation (Most recent Report Card and/or Transfer Card, Special Education Records, Transcripts, etc. if available)