Written by: Tiffany Westry
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From left: Kelly Hill, Ph.D., and Susan Spezzini, Ph.D.Two grants from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of English Language Acquisition will help improve instruction for English language learners in three east Alabama school systems and dual language learning for preschoolers across the state.
The five-year grants, totaling $5 million, will fund two projects run by the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Education. The projects will provide professional development to current educators, assist future teachers in preparing to teach the English language learners, and provide outreach activities for parents, families and members of the community.
“These grants are highly competitive,” said Susan Spezzini, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. “The grant proposals submitted for these two projects placed in the top 10 out of 338 proposals. This is a great testament to the caliber of UAB’s English as a Second Language program and our long history of success in preparing highly qualified teachers to serve in this area.”
| UAB leads the state in the preparation of ESL-certified teachers, averaging 35 graduates each year. The grants will support current educators, also known as in-service teachers, and undergraduate students pursuing education degrees, known as pre-service teachers. |
UAB leads the state in the preparation of ESL-certified teachers, averaging 35 graduates each year. The grants will support current educators, also known as in-service teachers, and undergraduate students pursuing education degrees, known as pre-service teachers.
Spezzini is the principal investigator of Project CREST, or the Consortium for Responsive Education and Successful Teaching. The project is a partnership between UAB, Gadsden City Schools, Attalla City Schools, the Etowah County Board of Education and St. James Catholic School. A total of 336 in-service and pre-service teachers will be selected to receive tuition support to take courses needed to obtain an ESL graduate degree and teacher certification, receive partial tuition support for taking ESL coursework within an advanced degree, or participate in professional development activities at their respective schools. All graduate courses will be administered through professional learning communities, weeklong summer institutes, Saturday classes or online platforms.
“We will also put an emphasis on increasing the teachers’ knowledge and skills of engaging parents, families and communities of English learners by expanding these topics in several of our existing courses,” Spezzini said. “The project also includes components to offer professional development in this area to school administrators.”
A second grant will support Improving Preschoolers Acquisition of Language through Coaching Teachers and Professional Development, or IMPACT-PD. This project is a partnership between the UAB English as a Second Language program and the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education.
“Pre-K students do not receive the same level of support for English language development that you see in K-12 schools,” said Kelly Hill, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction and principal investigator. “There are no ESL teachers in the preschools who can provide individualized instruction in English. With this grant, we hope to empower pre-K teachers with strategies they can use to help their young learners develop both English and their native language, in supportive, developmentally appropriate and culturally responsive ways.”
| IMPACT-PD will provide online professional development courses for in-service teachers, create an in-field summer English language professional development institute, organize outreach activities that promote parent, family and community engagement, and provide coursework for teachers pursuing ESL degrees. A total of 208 teachers from the state’s First Class Pre-K programs will be selected to participate in the online modules. |
IMPACT-PD will provide online professional development courses for in-service teachers, create an in-field summer English language professional development institute, organize outreach activities that promote parent, family and community engagement, and provide coursework for teachers pursuing ESL degrees. A total of 208 teachers from the state’s First Class Pre-K programs will be selected to participate in the online modules. Twelve preschool teachers will be selected for the in-field institute, 22 teachers will receive ongoing professional development through the UAB School of Education’s Maryanne Manning Family Literacy Center, to further their knowledge of engaging families, and 18 will receive support to earn a master’s degree in English as a second language.
Both grants will provide valuable training opportunities for undergraduate students in UAB’s education programs. Project CREST will provide support for 18 pre-service teachers to complete their programs of study, while 40 pre-service teachers will be selected to participate in IMPACT-PD.
“These cohorts of early childhood and elementary teacher education candidates will receive hands-on training with emerging bilingual learners, an opportunity they haven’t had in the past,” Hill said. “Previously, first-time teachers might go into the classroom and have children who may be learning English along with their native language, or they may be new to the country and know very little English. This level of training will enable these future teachers to go into their first classrooms far more prepared to meet the needs of young English learners.”
The students in the cohort will also be given the opportunity to take four graduate-level courses as undergraduates.
The UAB ESL program is also implementing three other federally funded grants to enhance ESL teacher education at UAB and throughout the state. Learn more about these initiatives.