Austin State University Project Helps To Train ESL School Teachers
Lufkin ISD has teamed up with Nacogdoches ISD and Stephen F. Austin State University to implement project ENLACE (English Language Acquisition Center for Excellence). The project is based on the Professional Development School model and includes all professional stakeholders: teachers, counselors, principals, district leaders, and teacher educators. The goal is to support and enable the professional development of school and higher education faculty in an effort to increase learning and achievement for English Language Learners.
ENLACE, which means connection or link in Spanish, prepares teachers to effectively teach English Language Learners. The connections extend from pre-service teachers to in-service teachers; from administrators to teacher educators. By 2015, second generation children of immigrants are expected to make up 30 percent of the school-aged population. This means teachers, even those who aren’t teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) classes, will be more likely to have students whose first language is not English. Project ENLACE is an attempt to better prepare teachers to deal with mixed language classrooms, as well as get them certified to teach ESL.
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