Educators Micah Graves (BHS) and Darnell Rancifer (BMS) recently attended Southwest ESOL Institute, a partnership of Henderson State University and Dawson Education Service Cooperative. Attendance at the Southwest ESOL Institute signifies a teacher’s commitment to best classroom practices for helping students acquire knowledge while developing their academic English. The Institute is a 10-day, intense training in the field of English to Speakers of Other Languages. Six days were completed this summer, while the other four will be completed on Saturdays throughout the 2023 - 2024 school year. The Institute is funded by a grant from the Arkansas Department of Education.
Teachers heard from nationally recognized speakers such as Lynda Franco, Mark Vasquez, and Keith Folse. Local teachers who are experts in their field provided real-world scenarios through demonstrations and panel discussions. Through the Institute, teachers will earn 12 hours of graduate credit and take the ESL Praxis test. Upon receiving passing scores, English as a Second Language will be added to a teacher’s license.
Rancifer (left) and Graves (right) are shown here with Jana Catlett, Bryant ESOL Coordinator and Assistant Director of the ESOL Institute.
