HUNTSVILLE, Ala — When you think about young people struggling through school and English is their first language, that's already one challenge. However, for those students that English is not their first language, the struggle is bigger. A new grant given to UAH hopes to make a difference for those students by helping their teachers.
UAH President Chuck Karr said they are very excited to help prepare teachers who are dealing with a really daunting problem, "but it's a problem that's so critical to the region in which we live."
UAH recognizes that if they can have a positive impact on one teacher, that teacher is going to go out and have a positive effect on literally thousands of young people, he expressed. "So it's a real privilege for us here at UAH to maybe be the center of that and kind of help drive it. and, you know, look, we want to do everything we can to try to be great partners in this remarkable community in which we reside," said Karr.
Madison County Schools Federal Programs Resource Specialist, Jessica Aguirre-Cantrell said now the work begins. "So now we work in partnership with UAH on what this teacher preparation is going to look like. and we know that part of that is a master's program in ESL."
Teachers will have the opportunity to have half of their tuition reimbursed if they join Project DIAL. Aguirre-Cantrell said, "I think students will see the impact of this program as soon as next school year because training will begin this summer, and teachers will have the opportunity to learn what those best practices are for reaching English learners," she explained.