Project SWEETT receives grant from the U.S. Department of Education
Released: November 15, 2007
Families who move to southeastern Wisconsin and have limited English proficiency are often left behind in many areas of life. It can be difficult to be successful in school and in the workforce. The Colleges of Letters and Sciences and Education at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater are collaborating to help these families transition and succeed in their lives.
"The increase in the number of language-minority students in this area and in Wisconsin in general is a major concern for almost all schools," said Wallace Sherlock, associate professor of curriculum and instruction.
Susan Huss-Lederman, associate professor of languages and literature, and Sherlock have been awarded a U.S. Department of Education National Professional Development grant, which will be used for Project SWEETT (Southeastern Wisconsin Excellence in Education through Teacher Training). The grant and will span five years, with a total budget of approximately $1.5 million.
"The purpose of this grant is to improve educational achievement of English language learners, that is, children who speak English as a second language," Huss-Lederman said. "We focus our efforts on working with teams of educators in certain school districts, with our major emphasis on middle and high schools. Our hope is to improve retention and promotion among these students and to help students graduate from high school and to pursue educational opportunities beyond high school."
This is the fourth grant for Project SWEETT since 2000. The first three grants were used to establish a teacher education program at UW-Whitewater for scholarships for education majors and licensed teachers. More than 150 teachers have received ESL and bilingual education licenses through Project SWEETT, half of whom have graduated from UW-Whitewater. The current grant will help the students by working to change the environment in schools so that English language learners can succeed academically.
"This new grant builds on accomplishments of earlier grants," Sherlock said. "In short, we are now reaching out to area schools and encouraging them to become centers of learning." Whitewater, Delavan-Darien, Janesville, Beloit and Waukesha are the target school districts.
The Janesville School District is one district that has been involved with Project SWEETT since the first grant was awarded in 2000.
"In Janesville, the population of English language learners grew so fast that we had to react and get certified teachers in our schools," said Judy Schmitz, ESL coordinator for the Janesville School District.
Janesville schools are experiencing an achievement gap between English language learning students and regular students, and the gap gets larger in the higher grade levels. One of the Janesville School District's goals is to decrease the current achievement gap in elementary and high school students. It is also working to improve the school climate and culture, and to improve and increase family and community relationships.
The Waukesha School District is another district that has been involved with Project SWEETT since the first grant in 2000. For the latest grant, the Waukesha School District is focusing on its three middle schools: Horning, Butler and Central. It is forming teams of teachers who will work together with Project SWEETT to work on professional development and service improvement.
"There are close to 1,400 English language learners in our district, which is a significant part of the population," said Doug Evans, bilingual coordinator for the Waukesha School District. "There has definitely been an upward growth of English language learners in the area."
The Waukesha School District will involve its bilingual and regular teachers, and the techniques and methodologies that will be given to all teachers will leave them better prepared and skilled.
"We are working to better equip our teachers," Evans said. "They will better themselves and the entire student population. This can help everyone, not just English language learners."
Evans is excited to be able to be a part of Project SWEETT and considers it to be extremely valuable. "Wallace [Sherlock] and Susan [Huss-Lederman] have been fantastic leaders of this program and have become mentors to many teachers in the program," he added.
A number of current teachers in the Waukesha School District have participated in Project SWEETT as former students, Evans said, and are able to connect to the students in a special kind of way.
"It is important that all of our future teachers be prepared to integrate second language and literacy development into content instruction, and that we not lose sight of the rich cultural background that all children bring into the classroom," Huss-Lederman said. "At UW-Whitewater, we are doing our best to do this."
Ana Mayorga, a UW-Whitewater alumna, is an English language learner teacher at Whitewater High School. She was one of the first students to be involved with Project SWEETT.
"Project SWEETT helped me with tuition and provided support in becoming a bilingual teacher," Mayorga said. "It made a big difference with the kind of support I received."
Once Mayorga completed her bachelor's degree, she was able to continue her studies with a scholarship through Project SWEETT and completed her master's degree. Mayorga was the first student to complete a master's degree through Project SWEETT. "That was a great influence in my career because if it wasn't for them, I don't think I could've gone for my master's degree right away."
Mayorga recognizes the support she received through Project SWEETT and is glad she was able to go through the program.
"Everything Project SWEETT did for me prepared me to be a better teacher in the classroom," Mayorga said. "I was able to start a bilingual parent group in Whitewater, and this would have never happened without the help of Project SWEETT."
- Abby Clark,clarkae12@uww.edu
