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 multilingual learners.
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). These grants align with Secretary Cardona’s plan to address opportunity and achievement gaps by investing in, recruiting, and supporting the professional development of a diverse educator workforce, including bilingual educators.
“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 (see below) will serve approximately 1,638 pre-service and 6,271 in-service teachers.
| Name | State | Total Granted Over 5 Years |
| The University of Alabama in Huntsville | AL | $2,799,244 |
| University of Alabama at Birmingham | AL | $2,985,871 |
| University of Arkansas System | AR | $2,955,256 |
| San Diego State University Foundation | CA | $2,947,479 |
| The Regents of the University of California, Los Angeles | CA | $2,944,015 |
| California State University San Marcos Corporation | CA | $3,000,000 |
| California State University, Dominguez Hills Foundation | CA | $2,571,938 |
| The Regents of the University of Colorado | CO | $2,822,251 |
| University of Delaware | DE | $2,666,354 |
| University of South Florida | FL | $2,061,703 |
| The Florida International University Board of Trustees | FL | $2,503,029 |
| The University of Central Florida Board of Trustees | FL | $2,603,976 |
| Florida Atlantic University | FL | $1,788,835 |
| University of Northern Iowa | IA | $1,489,701 |
| Trustees of Indiana University | IN | $2,999,075 |
| Kansas State University | KS | $2,940,478 |
| University of Kansas Center for Research, Inc. | KS | $2,290,405 |
| University of Massachusetts Boston | MA | $2,946,798 |
| Lasell University | MA | $2,504,012 |
| Trustees of Boston University | MA | $2,868,044 |
| National Association for Bilingual Education | MD | $2,965,801 |
| Grand Valley State University | MI | $2,705,208 |
| Western Michigan University | MI | $2,969,991 |
| Wayne State University | MI | $2,289,939 |
| Southeast Service Cooperative | MN | $2,716,643 |
| William Paterson University of New Jersey | NJ | $2,863,634 |
| The College of New Jersey | NJ | $2,998,231 |
| Board of Regents, NSHE obo Nevada State College | NV | $2,004,285 |
| University of Cincinnati | OH | $2,963,816 |
| University of Oregon | OR | $2,992,611 |
| Western Oregon University | OR | $2,989,591 |
| Temple University – Of The Commonwealth System of Higher Edu | PA | $2,998,194 |
| Cabrini University | PA | $2,981,534 |
| Clemson University | SC | $2,332,682 |
| BakerRipley | TX | $3,000,000 |
| The University of Texas at El Paso | TX | $2,831,807 |
| Region 18 Education Service Center | TX | $2,812,771 |
| Texas A&M University | TX | $3,000,000 |
| Stephen F. Austin State University | TX | $2,530,139 |
| University Of North Texas at Dallas | TX | $2,761,155 |
| Weber State University | UT | $2,787,029 |
| Western Washington University | WA | $2,588,559 |
| University of Washington | WA | $2,995,811 |
| Board of Regents of UW-System on behalf of UW-Milwaukee | WI | $2,870,290 |
| Total | $119,638,185 |
