Improving General Education Teachers’ Preparedness to Educate ELLs

Abstract

This capstone project is intended as a tool to educate and support high school principals, assistant high school principals, general education teachers (grades 9 through 12), and ENL teachers (optional), to become more effective contributors in the education of English Language Learners (ELLs). Rochester City School District contains a fair number of ELLs, which require all teachers to be prepared to integrate ELLs into their classroom. Many general education content area teachers have not received proper training on how to successfully accommodate ELLs, and some possible solutions have been stated. These solutions include getting to know the ELL individual to better assess and meet their needs, provide a healthy socioemotional environment, modify curriculum appropriate, be an active advocate for their needs, and quarterly check-ins based off goals the educator has set for themselves. Conclusions based off the information presented include general education teachers feeling unprepared to educate ELLs. Some current, best practices to focus on to support these teachers include creating an inclusive environment, supporting their cultural background in the curriculum, helpful accommodations, and making sure ELLs have the proper funding provided to them. Recommendations consist of further research on the most effective online resources for ELLs, improving relationships with ELL families, and studies on the tools recently established, such as the goal setting and check-ins and usefulness of the templates provided.