Weber State University received a $2.78 million grant from the Department of Education to train public school teachers on how to improve instruction for students who are not native English speakers.
Professors Melina Alexander, David Byrd and Shernavaz Vakil in the Jerry & Vickie Moyes College of Education at WSU will lead the professional development efforts for teachers and administrators in public and charter schools throughout Utah.
The five-year grant will support up to 100 teachers and administrators, admitting a cohort of 25 educators annually.
“Utah’s Hispanic population is growing faster than the national average and, as a result, our public and charter schools are seeing more English language learners,” said Byrd, professor of teacher education at WSU. “Academic success is increasingly linked with children’s mastery of a wide range of skills, including literacy.”
Byrd said there is a significant achievement gap between English language learners, or ELLs, and their native-speaking peers, and that gap widens as children move through the grade levels.
“This grant aims to help Utah teachers provide ELLs the best possible foundation for educational success,” he said.
James Taylor, WSU’s director of Sponsored Projects and Technology Commercialization, said the grant is one of the largest ever received at Weber State.
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