Project Description:
Burke, M. (PI), Boon, R. (PI), Bowman-Perrott, L. (PI), Padilla, K. (Co-PI) & Tong, F. (Co-
PI). (2021-2026). Project ¡LEER! Literacy, Language, and Social-Emotional Support for English Learners with and without Disabilities in Inclusive Settings to Improve Reading Outcomes. U.S. Department of Education, Office of English Language Acquisition. (Funded, Total award $2,959,258).
Project LEER Summary
Project ¡LEER! will develop and provide Multi-tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) and professional development (PD) to improve the reading outcomes of English Learners (ELs) with and without disabilities. Spanish is the predominant language commonly spoken by ELs in Texas where there is a critical need for services and support (90%; Texas Education Agency/Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS; 2018-2019). Project ¡LEER! in coordination with the Region 1 Education Service Center (see interim executive director letter of support) will provide PD to underserved areas of Texas within the Rio Grande Valley, where some of the highest concentrations of ELs (e.g., 30-40%) are enrolled. Moreover, Project ¡LEER! will partner with the San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD, see superintendent letter of support) to provide MTSS PD to schools with large percentages of ELs with and without disabilities.
We have provided in-person, virtual, and hybrid professional development workshops for pre-service and in-service teachers throughout Texas. We have also piloted our ClassWide Peer Tutoring (CWPT) materials for emergent bilingual high school students in San Antonio in multiple native languages. We also conducted our first CWPT training with high school teachers and students, and will implement CWPT in the fall.
