Fewer that 13% of all teachers of social studies/history, math, sciences, English language arts and literature, art, physical education, and music, etc. receive any training to work with English language learners (National Center for Education Statistics, 2002). These teachers are asked each day to create inclusive, language-acquisition conducive classes and to differentiate instruction for learners' whose first language is not English. Sadly, they are not provided training to do this (http://www.mcrel.org/PDF/Diversity/10905002RR_LinguisticallyDiverse.pdf
). Many feel underprepared to do this. We want to help them!
"Prospective teachers are more likely to get training on students with disabilities than on English-language learners as part of their teacher-preparation programs, a Government Accountability Office study
released today says. That's the case even though the ELL population is one of the fastest-growing student populations in U.S. schools." (Zehr, 2009, http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/learning-the-language/2009/08/gao_ells_get_a_partial_focus_i.html
Please sign this petition if you would like to see training provided for the general educators in content-based ESL instruction. We would like to see the State of Wisconsin, Department of Public Instruction (DPI) require some coursework in teacher training programs throughout the State as the teacher training programs do not feel compelled to include coursework for future teachers to help them meet the language and subject matter needs of this growing population in the K-12 public schools (https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/files/uploads/3/EducatingELLsBuildingTeacherCapacityVol1.pdf
). Other states have these requirements such as Florida, California, Colorado and Connecticut. Why does Wisconsin with its growing ELL/Bilingual population resist this?
Let's help our general educators to meet these learners' needs and include all learners in the classroom in productive ways! Please sign and spread the word by sharing on your social networking site. Thank you! :-)
We the undersigned wish the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction to require teacher preparation programs and licensing agents to train all subject matter teachers to work with English language learners. We desire to have a number of hours attached to this training, like other states do.