SEMO: GRANT TO TRAIN IN TEACHING OF ENGLISH SKILLS

Southeast Missouri State University has received a $541,185, three-year federal grant to train Missouri elementary and secondary school educators on teaching English skills to students who lack proficiency in the language.

The funding, the first of its kind in Missouri, was announced Tuesday at a press conference at the University Center. The announcement was made by U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau; Southeast's president, Kala Stroup; and English department faculty member Adelaide Parsons, coordinator of the training program.

The program, called Project Interact, is designed to facilitate teaching children who lack English proficiency, Emerson said.

The idea, said Parsons, is that teachers can teach these students English while they are instructing them in other subjects, such as math and social studies.

Emerson told reporters, "I believe English is the door opener in our society. Language is a powerful tool."

Language skills are important for success in life, he said. "I can't think of a better way to do that than through a well-versed education in English."

Emerson is a sponsor of the "Official Language in Government Act," which states that all of the nation's citizens should know the English language and that it is the one language in which all of the federal government's official business is conducted.

He said the goals of Project Interact and the congressional measure are very similar.

Stroup praised Emerson for his help in securing the education grant.

She said the grant of $180,395 per academic year will provide funding for teacher training that has previously been provided on a very limited budget as part of the English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program at Southeast.

The program has been in operation for eight years, Parsons said.

Much of the money from the federal grant will be used to pay tuition for teachers participating in the training program, she said.

Southeast is one of only two higher education institutions in Missouri to have a state-approved program in certifying ESOL teachers. The outreach program includes services such as assessing students' language skills and helping to devise study programs.

The program has received an "exemplary" ranking from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Stroup said it's an "enormous challenge" for elementary and secondary school teachers to teach in classrooms where many students speak little English.

In Project Interact, Southeast will work with teachers in public and private schools throughout Missouri, but primarily in St. Louis and Kansas City.

Students who are not proficient in English include Vietnamese and Spanish-speaking immigrants, officials said.

Parsons estimated as many as 10,000 students in Missouri's schools don't speak English proficiently.

"There is hardly a county in the state of Missouri not affected," she pointed out.

In Cape Girardeau and Perry counties, where there are several Japanese-owned manufacturing plants, there are Japanese students in the schools who are not proficient in English, she said.

"In the last 10 years," said Parsons, "we have seen a 78 percent increase in the number of Asians settling in the state of Missouri."

Emerson said there is a growing number of students in Missouri's schools who don't speak English well.

Project Interact, he said, will give youngsters "the primary tool" they will need to succeed in life.