Working with Newcomers for  Over 25 Years

The Newcomer Interim Service Center (NISC) in Palatine CCSD #15 began as one component of the Title VII awarded grant Project Great Start beginning in June of 1997. Barbara Marler, Ed.D., serving as director of second language programs for the district, wrote the grant, conceptualized the program, and directed its implementation, as a part of an array of programs (ESL, one-way bilingual, dual language, world language, and migrant education) offered to multilingual learners attending schools in Palatine, Illinois. The NISC served newcomers in over 60 language groups in 1st - 8th grades, many with interrupted or limited formal education (SLIFE or SIFE). The NISC offered newcomers ESL instruction, native language literacy instruction whenever possible, content-based ESL, sheltered content area instruction, and home language support in the content areas. Gym, music, and art classes were also provided. The teachers, director, social worker, and secretary at the NISC were all multilingual. Newcomers at the middle school level were bused back to their home schools in the early afternoon to participate in extracurricular activities. Students transitioned out of the NISC into existing ESL/Bilingual/Dual programs after 3 to 4 months participation. The NISC served as a model program/demonstration site for schools across the nation and helped the district earn the Malcomb Baldrige National Quality Award.

In a nod to the success and notoriety of the NISC in Palatine CCSD #15, the chief administrator for the Division of English Language Learning at the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) at that time, Dr. Xavier Botano, asked Dr. Marler to serve as a liaison for ISBE to help school districts across the state establish newcomer centers in the early 2000s.

An Exemplary Program