News release Public Information Office   SLU 10880   Hammond, LA 70402   phone: 985-549-2341   fax: 985-549-2061 publicinfo@selu.edu     www.selu.edu/news Contact: Christina Chapple Date: 11/4/03   Click on image for publication quality photo SIGNING ON FOR PROJECT TEACH -- Southeastern Louisiana University and representatives of the four parish school districts participating in Southeastern’s Project TEACH sign agreements to participate in a second year of the federally-funded program, which trains teachers to work with students who speak limited English. From left, are, seated, Tangipahoa Superintendent Louis Joseph, President Randy Moffett, East Baton Rouge Superintendent Clayton Wilcox, Lafayette Superintendent James Easton, and Livingston Superintendent Warren C. Curtis; middle, Tangipahoa ESL Coordinator Deborah Forshag, Tangipahoa Migrant Education Coordinator Andy Anderson, Lafayette ESL Coordinator Beth Thomas, Livingston ESL Coordinator Dawn Pope, Director of Sponsored Research Emily Bond, Head of the Department of Communications Karen Fontenot, and East Baton Rouge ESL Coordinator Gladys White; back, Lafayette Assistant Superintendent Burnell Lemoine, Assistant Dean of the College of Education and Human Development Bill Neal, Dean of the Office of Continuing Education Gerald Guidroz, East Baton Rouge Federal Programs Director Richard Capps, East Baton Rouge teacher Joyce Graham, Project TEACH Coordinator Josh Posey, and Project TEACH Director Rossana Boyd.  FOUR PARISHES SIGN SECOND YEAR “PROJECT TEACH” AGREEMENTS       HAMMOND -- Representatives of four parish school districts have signed agreements to participate in a second year of Southeastern Louisiana University’s Project TEACH, a five-year program to improve and increase the number of teachers qualified to work with students who speak limited English.       Project TEACH, administered by Southeastern’s Department of Teaching and Learning in the College of Education and Human Development, was funded last year through a $1.2 million Title III professional development grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of English Language Acquisition. The program, said Director Rossana Boyd, is the only one of its kind in Louisiana.         On October 31, Boyd and Project TEACH Coordinator Josh Posey met with the superintendents and other representatives of the four Project TEACH partner school districts – Tangipahoa, Livingston, East Baton Rouge, and Lafayette parishes.       Representing the school districts were, from East Baton Rouge Parish, Superintendent  Clayton Wilcox, Director of Federal Programs Richard Capps, and ESL Program Manager Gladys White; from Lafayette Parish, Superintendent James Easton, Assistant Superintendent Burnell Lemoine, and ESL Coordinator Beth Thomas; from Livingston Parish, Superintendent Warren Curtis and ESL Coordinator Dawn Pope; and from Tangipahoa Parish, Superintendent Louis Joseph, ESL Coordinator Deborah Forshag, and Migrant Education Coordinator Andy Anderson.       Boyd, White and Thomas told representatives from the parishes and Southeastern, including President Randy Moffett, about the design and implementation of Project TEACH as well as the district-wide impact the project has had during its first year. The participants also discussed Project TEACH’s importance for teachers, students of limited English proficiency, and the districts as a whole.         “In order to address this substantial and ever-increasing need (for ESL certified teachers), each year Project TEACH provides money for tuition, material and technology stipends, and fees for up to 33 in-service teachers to take the four on-line Southeastern courses,” Boyd said. The courses lead to English as a Second Language (ESL) add-on teaching certification in Louisiana or to a master’s degree  in Curriculum and Instruction with ESL concentration.        Southeastern is the only Louisiana university, and one of only a handful nationwide, that offers add-on ESL certification entirely on the Internet.        “Project TEACH also provides extensive funding to these cohort teachers through stipends for them to attend professional conferences,” Boyd said. “It has also provided stipends for materials and professional development workshops for nearly 90 other teachers from the four districts. The workshops address the teaching of ESL learners, particularly in mainstream classrooms.        For additional information about Project TEACH, contact Boyd, 985-549-5736, or Posey, 985-549-2115. Information is also available online at www.selu.edu/Ac ademics/Education/TEC/esl/project_teach.htm. Return to News Releases