Archives Middle Schools: Newcomer

Official Name: ESL Newcomer Academy

Year Opened: 2014

Newcomer Academy began as a program housed at Shawnee High School in 2006 and continued at the renamed Academy @ Shawnee. It received recognition as a separate special school in 2014 with the appointment of its own principal. New students arrive at Newcomer steadily throughout the year, referred by the ESL Intake Center after completing an English language assessment. Newcomer uses a cohort system so that students at similar levels of English spend their whole day together. This system also allows teachers in different subject areas to work together to address the specific needs of the cohorts they teach. After attendance at Newcomer, usually for one to three semesters, most students are transitioned out to “mainstream” or “comprehensive” schools with ESL programs. Newcomer opened a satellite site, International Academy, at Iroquois High School in August 2014. In 2015 Newcomer opened a satellite site in the Phoenix School of Discovery building at 3741 Pulliam Drive due to increased demand for services. Additional classrooms were placed at Gheens Academy, 4425 Preston Highway, in 2017.