Participants will understand how to fulfill leadership responsibilities behind ESOL program development and maintenance, to include federal and state program and legal requirements, the role of culture and the community, cross-cultural communications, strategies for parental involvement, and support for classroom teachers.

Course Outcomes:

• Understand the role of diversity, and its role in, and affect on, the school community.
• Learn about and apply strategies for enlisting involvement of the home family.
• Develop working knowledge of, and utility with, resources and materials that support student growth in language and overall academic achievement.
• Understand the history and background of ESOL/ELL programs, the role of legislation behind them and what the mandates are in order to support them in the school community.
• Understand how to represent the legal interests of ELL students in the wider school community.
• Understand the role of state and federal government in ESOL programs and how to support their academic achievement through teacher professional development and parental support.
• Develop and practice with strategies that aid paraprofessionals in supporting ESOL/ELL academic growth in all content areas.
•  Demonstrate knowledge of second language acquisition (applied linguistics) theory and its applicability to the instructional process.
• Understand and apply language acquisition and theory.
• Design curriculum supports and use strategies that further language acquisition.
• Understand how to support ESOL participation in gifted programs, academic intervention programs.
• Understand how to identify special education needs in ELL students, and learn the referral process when indicators are recognized.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the school site administrator’s role and responsibilities as the instructional leader representative in the school-based ELL Committee.
• Analyze and use data to further ESOL professional development, student intervention, and for programmatic decision-making.