Newcomer Program / New Arrival Centers

New Arrival Centers (NAC)

The Newcomer Program is a fundamental and effective educational model for furthering the transition and integration of immigrant students into the mainstream content classroom environment. To provide academic support, BISD offers the Newcomer Program in New Arrival Centers (NAC) at Jones Elementary, Jane Long Intermediate School, Davila Middle School, and Travis B. Bryan High School.

Purpose/Goal

Newcomer Programs are designed to develop proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing in the English language to newly-arrived Emergent Bilinguals. The goals of the program are as follows: 

  • Acquire and develop English listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills

  • Develop academic language and core subject knowledge

  • Transition into the mainstream program

Program Description/Summary

The New Arrival Center students are in a Bilingual and/or ESL classroom setting. Newcomer programs are English language acquisition programs where students are scheduled into blocked periods of intense and rigorous instruction. Students are taught the grade-appropriate English Language Arts and Reading Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) to better develop reading and writing skills. Throughout the school year, students continue to increase English language acquisition by attending the other core content classes. Newcomer classes follow these guidelines:

  • A 1:15 teacher/student ratio

  • An assigned instructional aid to help support the diverse needs of these students

  • Inclusive learning environments to support the linguistic, cognitive, and affective needs of newly arrived students