Colleges of Education and Arts & Science awarded $2.3 million grant

The LeBron James Family Foundation College of Education and the Buchtel College of Arts & Sciences have been awarded a five-year National Professional Development grant from the U.S. Department of Education totaling $2,370,987.

The grant supports the NE Ohio ACHIEVE project, providing an opportunity for NE Ohio teachers in participating districts to complete Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) endorsement coursework.  Additionally a research study will be conducted to investigate the effect of on-site teacher coaching in word reading/meaning and reading comprehension on the reading achievement of elementary-level English learners and native English-speaking students. The grant also includes implementation of a Learner-Centered Professional Development (LCPD) Model to enhance effective relationships between schools and families/parents.

Partner districts for the grant are Akron Public Schools, Cleveland Metropolitan School District, Cuyahoga Falls City School District, Lakewood City School District, Lorain City School District, and Westlake City School District

Principal Investigators for the grant are Dr. Shernavaz Vakil, Professor, Curricular & Instructional Studies, Dr. Wei Zhang, Associate Professor, English, and Dr. Valerie Sartor, Assistant Professor of Instruction, Curricular & Instructional Studies.