Paraprofessionals in Denver Public Schools will train at Metro State to become teachers for English language learners, under a newly awarded $1.4 million five-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of English Language Acquisition.

“This grant was written specifically to support Metro State’s HSI initiative, and we hope it is the first of many to come,” said Associate Vice President for Enrollment Services Judi Diaz Bonacquisti, referring to the College’s stated goal of increasing Latino enrollment to 25 percent, thus qualifying as a federally designated Hispanic Serving Institution. (Diaz Bonacquisti co-chairs the HSI Committee.)

Director of Admissions and Outreach Elena Sandoval-Lucero says that the grant will enable the College to give the paraprofessionals the academic, financial and social support they need to succeed.

The “Grow Your Own” Teacher Training Project was conceived by Elena Sandoval-Lucero, director of admissions and outreach, and Peter Vigil, assistant professor of elementary education, who will jointly manage it. “Research shows that, for these paraprofessionals to be successful, they need financial, academic and social support,” said Sandoval-Lucero. “This grant will enable them to get that kind of support, from both the Teacher Education department and from Student Services.”

“The English language learning (ELL) population in DPS has increased 95 percent over the past 10 years and the number of endorsed English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers is on the decline,” said Sandoval-Lucero. “This program will prepare paraprofessionals, who are already working with ELL kids in the schools, for roles as elementary teachers who are skilled in meeting the academic and linguistic needs of the DPS’s growing ELL student population.”

Sandoval-Lucero said that, for a number of reasons, the grant focuses on paraprofessionals gaining teaching credentials: The research shows that paraprofessionals who become teachers tend to remain in the profession and are less likely to switch careers than other teacher trainees; they know the schools and are members of the community served by the school; as first-year teachers they are often rated more highly by their principals than other new teachers; and they tend to be more ethnically diverse and mirror the demographics of the schools in which they serve.

The project will involve a partnership among Metro State, DPS and the Colorado Department of Education. Twenty-five paraprofessionals selected for the program will complete 143 hours of coursework over a five-year period, earning a K-6 elementary teaching license with a state-approved endorsement in Linguistically Diverse Education and will ultimately be assigned to teach in high-need Denver Public Schools. The grant provides funding for the students’ tuition, fees and books for five years, as well as a project director and administrative support.

Sandoval-Lucero said that the program is unique in a number of ways. First, paraprofessionals will not have to leave their jobs while earning their teaching license. Trainees will enroll in courses on a part-time basis in the spring and fall and full time during the summer. “In this way, they can continue in their paraprofessional teaching assignment but, more importantly, they will have opportunities to practice learned skills in real classroom settings while they’re in school,” she said.

Secondly, the curriculum includes a supervised practicum, in which faculty members will observe first-hand the degree to which trainees are prepared to serve students with limited English proficiency.

“In the short term,” Sandoval-Lucero said, “this grant will help support the HSI initiative by bringing a diverse cohort of students to the campus. In the long term, it will help by providing highly qualified teachers for English language learners in DPS, increasing students’ chances for educational success and their options for post-secondary education once they graduate.”