At HCCS, ESL is an additional support to help students with their English skills. ESL stands for English as a Second Language. The ESL program will work specifically with students in small groups. We focus on specific English goals (grammar, spelling, comprehension, reading, writing, etc) depending on their levels and skills.

Before ESL begins, parents are notified that there will be additional work to support the students so they can feel more successful in English. Student progress is tracked by the ESL instructor and will update and keep in touch with their classroom teacher and parents. Beaverton School District will test students whose first language is not English and the information will be passed on to the ESL instructor who can help them with their specific needs.

The  goal of our ESL system is to ensure academic success for all of our students here at Hope Chinese Charter School. We want to do whatever is necessary to provide the  students with the means they need to succeed.

We believe that TAG should be a collaboration between parents, students, and teachers, to enrich the existing curriculum and cultivate a student’s gifts through projects that foster deeper understanding.

All students in third and fifth grade are given the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) screener. Any student who scores 90 or higher on the screener is given the full comprehensive CogAT. If they score in the top percentile and receive two teacher recommendations they are eligible for TAG. 

Teachers can also recommend students younger than third grade to take the full CogAT if both teachers think they are highly advanced in all subject areas. 

If a student passes the screener, parents/guardians will be notified before the full CogAT is given. When the scores for the full CogAT are released the TAG coordinator will send scores to parents/guardians. 

The TAG coordinator will work with teachers to differentiate and enhance the curriculum – not to add more work, but to add higher DOK (Depth of Knowledge)-level questions that allow your students to access the same work.

Here at Hope, MTSS, our multi-tiered system of support, allows us to help ensure the success of all our students. The program is an umbrella system that encompasses social-emotional learning, behavior support and structure, academics, and whole child learning. 

As you can see from the graphic below, this system involves many working parts that combine to support students during their time here at Hope. 

As students progress along the continuum of academic skills, individual students reach different milestones at different times. Our intervention program is a tiered structure that focuses on our students who need additional support with English reading, English writing, math, and Chinese reading. 

Our intervention coordinator monitors data to ensure students are on the right track to meet grade-level benchmarks in each subject area. Teachers regularly collaborate to determine what can be done within classrooms to support students, and what differentiated instruction, interventions, or accommodations are necessary to help students achieve. Students can be referred by classroom teachers to receive additional support as well. 

Most importantly, our goal is to ensure academic success for all of our students here at Hope Chinese Charter School, whether that means one round of intervention and support or several, whether that is for a few months or a few years, we want to do whatever is necessary to provide your student with the means they need to succeed.