The University of South Florida’s College of Education received a $4.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to improve how educators across the Tampa Bay region teach young English learners.
The five-year initiative is called STEEPLE-EL, or Strengthening the Training of Early Education Professionals to Enhance the Learning Environment for English Learners.
The project will focus on English learners from pre-kindergarten through third grade.
USF’s College of Behavioral and Community Sciences will also participate.
Community partners include Hillsborough County Public Schools, Redlands Christian Migrant Association, the Early Learning Coalition of Hillsborough County, and the Early Learning Coalition of Pinellas County.
Lisa Lopez, a professor of Educational Psychology at USF, serves as principal investigator.
The initiative will establish a Graduate Certificate in Bilingual Development in Early Childhood Education.
Existing educators will be able to complete the certificate, while people entering the teaching profession can combine it with USF’s Master of Arts in Teaching in Elementary Education.
The grant is expected to support approximately 110 educators across the two pathways.
The first cohorts are expected to begin in fall 2027.
The program will also establish a Leadership Academy for approximately 30 school, district, and organizational leaders.
Participants will receive professional development focused on evidence-based approaches to educating English learners.
Researchers will evaluate whether the training changes classroom practices and leads to improved outcomes for students.
The project will also expand a classroom observation tool designed for bilingual learning environments.
USF plans to extend the tool through third grade and adapt it for classrooms serving children whose primary languages extend beyond English and Spanish.
Participants in the graduate certificate program will also have an opportunity to study education and teacher preparation in the Dominican Republic.
KEY QUOTES:
“The emphasis of this grant specifically was to look at how we can improve the instruction and the outcomes for English learners in early childhood.”
Lisa Lopez, Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of South Florida
“A goal of this project is to create sustainable capacity for teachers to work with multilingual students, making sure that their students’ needs are being met and they are developing the skills they need to be academically successful.”
Lisa Lopez, Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of South Florida
