Lesley University recently received a grant for just over $2.7 million from the US Department of Education to carry out the English Language Learners Parent/Teacher Training Certificate Project, a five-year program aimed at supporting the academic achievement of English Language Learner (ELL) students and improving family and parent participation in their schooling.
The project involves five years of training for teachers through Lesley coursework, as well as for parents, via the Teachers Involve Parents in Schoolwork (TIPS) framework of home/school learning activities. The project is located in the Brockton, Mass., school district, which serves a high percentage of ELL students.
As a result of the grant, Lesley will:
- Provide professional development to K-12 teachers to increase effectiveness in working with ELL parents.
- Provide ELL parents with classes and training to help them assist their children with school and, later, college, military and professional entrance exams and other forms.
- Improve the language and literacy of ELLs.
- Assess the effectiveness of the TIPS method.
“This is a tremendous opportunity for both Lesley faculty and the students and families in the immigrant community of Brockton,” says Graduate School of Education Dean Jack Gillette.
“For our Graduate School of Education, the grant represents a chance to apply the expertise of our Teaching Speakers of Other Languages faculty in the Brockton immigrant community, emphasizing the importance of school-home partnerships,” says Dr. Gillette. “For Brockton, this is a five-year commitment to build out their current work in making upward mobility a reality for English Language Learners.”
The grant is being implemented in partnership with the Brockton Cape Verdean Association. Overseeing the project will be Lesley English as a Second Language literacy faculty Dr. Meg Burns, Dr. Laura Schall-Leckrone and Dr. Amanda Wager; principal investigator Dr. Jack Levy; and project evaluator Dr. Elizabeth Brach.