U.S. Department of Education Awards Nearly $120 Million Over Five Years to Support Educators of English Learner Students
October 13, 2022
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) recently announced awards of nearly $120 million over five years under the National Professional Development Program (NPD) to support educators of English learner students.
The NPD program provides grants to eligible Institutions of Higher Education and public or private entities with relevant experience and capacity, in consortia with states or districts, to implement professional development activities that will improve instruction for English Learners (ELs). Following the education priorities of the Biden-Harris Administration as stated by Secretary Cardona, these grants align with his call to boldly address opportunity and achievement gaps by investing in, recruiting, and supporting the professional development of a diverse educator workforce, including bilingual educators so education jobs are ones that people from all backgrounds want to pursue.
"I grew up speaking Spanish at home and thrived as an English learner in school thanks to great teachers who helped me realize that my bilingualism and my biculturalism would someday be my superpower," said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. "As our nation grows more diverse than ever before, we must level up our investments in educators who can provide students from all backgrounds with equitable opportunities to succeed. This $120 million, five-year investment will support high quality professional development and teacher preparation programs across the country. It will also help us grow a pipeline of diverse and talented educators who can help more English learners realize their own bilingual and multilingual superpowers."
These grants can be awarded to educators of ELs including teachers, administrators, paraprofessionals or other educators working with ELs. Professional development activities may include teacher education programs and training that lead to certification, licensing, or endorsement for providing instruction to students learning English.
Educator effectiveness is the most important in-school factor affecting student achievement and success. To improve the academic achievement of ELs, the NPD program supports pre-service and in-service instruction for teachers and other staff, including school leaders, working with ELs. Selected applicants submitted proposals to improve access to culturally and linguistically responsive early learning environments for multilingual learners and that increase public awareness about the benefits of proficiency in more than one language.
“The NPD grants support the professional growth of the education workforce by promoting the skills and critical dispositions of educators and leaders. These grants can enhance the capacity of the education workforce to create equitable learning environments that promote language, literacy and diversity. This work is vital to increase educator effectiveness in meeting the needs of English learners and their families,” said OELA Acting Director Montserrat Garibay.
The NPD program has funded a range of grantees that are currently implementing 182 projects across the country, including the most recent grantees. As the EL population continues to grow, it has become increasingly important to identify and expand the use of evidence-based instructional practices that improve EL learning outcomes.
The Department projects this new cohort of 44 grants will serve approximately 1,638 pre-service and 6,271 in-service teachers.
A full list of awards can be found below: