Project BRIDGE

(Bringing Resources that Incorporate Development in General Education)

Three levels of participants will be involved in this project:

SUNY Fredonia faculty and Graduate Interns involved in content area programs- 13 served each year; 65 served by the end of the project
Educational Administrators- 13 served each year; 65 served by the end of the project
Partner School District Middle and High School Content Area Teachers- 30 served each year; 150 served by the end of the project

Partners: Dunkirk City School District, Jamestown City School District, and Lackawanna City School District

Project Description: Project BRIDGE represents a collaborative effort of urban schools and an institution of higher education to directly address the education of English Language Learners (ELLs) in regular education content area classes. Three districts in western New York State (Dunkirk, Jamestown and Lackawanna) and SUNY Fredonia have joined forces to combat low performance ELLs in grades 6 through 12 through a three- tiered model that focuses on the use of evidence-based instructional practices, understanding of adolescent development, and awareness of the sociocultural factors that affect learning, and their direct impact on these students.

Project BRDIGE will employ ongoing intensive professional development strategies for teaching ELLs, with evidence-based instruction taught via modeling, coaching, and problem solving. In addition, the selection of appropriate content materials and use of assessment to guide instruction will be targeted topics in the professional development sessions. Improvement of teaching ELLs and gains in the academic performances of ELLs will result from professional development in three tiers: training of teacher candidates, district administrators, and content area classroom teachers from our three partner school districts.

Faculty involved in SUNY Fredonia's content area teacher preparation programs will be mentored in implementation of evidence-based instructional strategies for ELLs in their courses. Content area teacher candidates will employ evidence-based practices in their field experiences and provide a report (Teaching Learning Project-TLP) that identifies target instructional behavior and assesses the implementation of a specific instructional strategy. Teacher candidates will be expected to adjust their instruction based on the performance of their pupils. District administrators and administrative interns will employ supervision strategies specifically designed for teachers who deal with ELLs. Middle and high school level content area teachers will employ instructional strategies with proven effectiveness with ELLs. Their use of these strategies will be monitored regularly, with student performance on content area tasks and with student performance on NYS content area tests and Regents exams as evidence of the effectiveness of instructional decisions.