ELL Course Meets the Need

The principle of providing great public schools for all children underlies the need for relevant professional development. FEA has continually worked to meet that challenge. English language learners are the fastest growing student group in public education. Many educators have expressed a need for training in ELL not only to meet the states ESOL requirements but also to become the best educators they can be. Collaboration between FEA and the Volusia Teachers Organization has resulted in the alignment of English Language Learners: Culture, Equity, and Language with state standards for ESOL credit. VTO members Jessie Harris and Jo Ann Williams, both ELL trainers and ESOL teachers, have written the alignment and syllabus for the course. VTO is working with their district to make this course available to educators in the coming school year. FEA hopes to make the course accessible to other locals and will be pursuing statewide recognition of the ELL course for ESOL credit. For additional information, please contact Blanca Sotelo at blanca.sotelo@floridaea.org.