October 31, 2008
Project ECU LEAP to Receive Innovation in Teacher Education Award
Greenville, NC – Project ECU LEAP (Leading Exceptional Annual Progress) will receive the Southeastern Regional Association of Teacher Educators (SRATE) Innovation in Teacher Education Award at the SRATE 55th Annual Conference held in Myrtle Beach, SC, November 7-9. Department of Curriculum and Instruction faculty members, Diane Rodriguez and Dr. Jane Manner are project directors for Project ECU Leap.
Project ECU LEAP, is a grant from the U.S. Department of Education to provide support for licensed, in-service English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teachers and content area teachers to become licensed as ESL teachers through a combination of on-line coursework and on-site professional development. Project ECU LEAP will implement a planned and appropriate response to the critical needs, shortages, and weaknesses in services that exist in the Greene County Public School District. East Carolina University is working in collaboration with Kansas State University, Greene County Public School District teachers and administrators, and the ECU College of Education Teacher Education Program in order to improve the delivery and quality of services to ELL students.
Project ECU LEAP is a five-year National Professional Development Program (NPDP) grant funded by the Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) through the U.S. Department of Education. The grant provides funds for professional development activities to improve classroom instruction for English Language Learners (ELLs) and assist instructional personnel educating ELLs.
For more information on the SRATE conference, visit http://www.srate.org/Conference.html. For information on Project ECU LEAP contact Dr. Diane Rodriguez at rodriguezd@ecu.edu or Dr. Jane Manner at mannerj@ecu.edu.