Butler University professor wins $2 million to train teachers for ENL licenses

Butler University Associate Professor of Education Katie Brooks will support the development of 80 current or potential teachers as they become licensed English Language Learning (ELL) professionals, using a $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
 
“The shortage of ENL teachers is so bad in Indiana that a lot of kids are not being served by licensed teachers; they’re being served by paraprofessionals who’ve had two to three days of training,” Brooks said. “This is deeply needed in our state.”
 
Impassioned by the lack of English as a New Language (ENL) teachers in her home state, Brooks will use the five-year grant to help 20 prospective teachers and 40 practicing teachers to earn their ELL license. The program, run through Butler College of Education, will feature collaboration from ENL, reading, special education and early childhood faculty experts.
 
“Everything we will be doing will be job-embedded coursework,” Brooks said. “We’re not having teachers do anything that doesn’t directly apply to their jobs. So instead of writing a paper for me, they’re going to create professional-development modules where they’re going to do teacher research and share what they’re learning. I want everything they do to make a difference in their schools and in the broader community.”