Washington County : Grant to benefit 100 area teachers
Posted on Thursday, August 23, 2007
A $ 1. 3 million U. S. Department of Education grant will help about 100 Springdale teachers learn to instruct students who don’t speak English fluently, officials announced Wednesday.
The teachers will earn state English as a Second Language endorsements through the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville’s new Teach Them All program.
The Springdale School District had 6, 150 English-Language Learners in the 2006-07 school year, more than any other district in the state. At 16, 500 students, Springdale had the state’s third-largest district a year ago.
Diana Gonzales Worthen, who is heading the new program, said Wednesday that Teach Them All offers educators another training option.
Teachers already can earn endorsements by attending classes at state universities or at one of the Arkansas Department of Education’s periodic ESL Academies.
Worthen said two groups of teachers will go through her program over the course of four years.
All the teachers will come from Springdale High School, George Junior High, Kelly Middle School and Springdale’s alternative school. They’ll teach core subjects like math and science.
Teachers will take classes at the university in small groups, then apply what they learned during class at their schools.
Mike Daugherty, head of UA’s department of curriculum and instruction, said there’s a significant need for endorsed teachers in Arkansas.
About 23, 000 of Arkansas ’ 465, 000 students were English-Language Learners last year, according to the Arkansas Department of Education.
Statewide, only 1, 584 of 33, 578 teachers held endorsements.
In Springdale, about 500 of 1, 200 teachers held endorsements last year.
“There’s a real mismatch between the number of English-Language Learners and the number of teachers prepared to work with them,” Daugherty said.
Andre Guerrero, head of the state Education Department’s English-Language Learner division, said Wednesday the state doesn’t require an endorsement for teachers who lead English as a Second Language classrooms.
Twenty-four other states do, according to the National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition.
John Wesson, assistant principal at Springdale High, said Wednesday that getting more teachers endorsed is a priority at his school.
About 500 of Springdale High’s 1, 700 students are English-Language Learners this year, Wesson said. Twenty-five of 123 teachers at the high school are endorsed. Wesson said seven teachers asked for permission to participate before the program was even formally announced. Tx Trumbo, a history teacher at the high school, has held an endorsement for five years. Five of his six classes are made up entirely of English-Language Learners. The key to effectively reaching English-Language Learners is to focus on teaching vocabulary, moving slowly, incorporating visual aides and making the students feel comfortable in class, Trumbo said. “No one is dumb in my class,” he said. “If I moved to Mexico City, it would be tough on me to figure out what’s happening. “ We are all working together to learn.”
To contact this reporter: jkrupa@arkansasonline. com
Definition The U. S. Department of Education uses the term English-Language Learner to refer to pupils who do not speak, read or write English fluently because they come from environments where English is not the dominant language.
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