$3M Grant to Prepare Teachers of English Language Learners

The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) has awarded UW Tacoma Professor Belinda Louie a $3-million grant. This is Louie’s third multimillion dollar grant from DOE since 2012.

The first grant went to support Project TELL (Teaching English Language Learners). The second funded Project TELL, Professional Development. This grant is for Project TELL, Equity. “This grant’s priorities are to increase the certification and English Language Learner (ELL) endorsement for our teacher candidates and also to improve ELL instruction for teachers in our partner districts,” said Louie.

The grant also includes funds for scholarships. “We will be able to provide scholarships for our K-8 and secondary teacher candidates who are willing to pursue a special endorsement in multilingual learner instruction,” said Louie. “We will also have scholarships available to teachers in our partner districts who are willing to come to UW Tacoma to get their endorsement in teaching English language learners.”

Louie started Project TELL back in 2010 with the goal of increasing the number of teachers in the South Sound who have their ELL endorsement. “At the time when the first DOE grant came in, Tacoma had about 1,800 teachers and only 5.2% of them were trained in ELL,” she said.

Louie’s work is part of the larger School of Education mission to “transform learning, contribute to the community, exemplify professionalism and promote diversity.”

“We have a rich array of learners from multilingual backgrounds here in the South Sound and this project provides a culturally sustainable model for both pre-service and in-service teachers and other school personnel,” said School of Education Dean Rachel Endo. “It will have a positive and lasting impact on our community.”

Project TELL, Equity has another component. “We are charged with increasing public awareness of the benefits of being multilingual,” said Louie. “Each year we will get 10 junior high students to work with teachers and their parents to interview people in the community who are multilingual,” said Louie. “These interviews will be recorded and will be uploaded to a public webpage where they can be viewed by anyone.”