Cost and Application Process
FREE to participants! (Paid for by the National Professional Development Grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of English Language Acquisition)
When you have completed your Old Dominion University (ODU) online application as a non-degree-seeking graduate student and are ready to submit it, you will need to pay your $50 application fee via the Apply Yourself system. The application fee is waived for all former ODU students.
Books and materials for the courses and stipend for classroom materials of $1,500.00 for each participant (Paid for by the National Professional Development Grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of English Language Acquisition).
Please click to apply here.
Download the 3 forms:
- In-service TEAMS-2 Application Form
- In-service Recommendation Form
- In-service Obligation Requirements and Agreement Form
Complete and sign the forms and email them to Dr. Sharon Judge: sjudge@odu.edu.
After your selection is finalized, you will need to apply to the Old Dominion University Graduate School.
It takes 3 semesters- Fall, Spring, and Summer (1st sessions).
You will spend about three to four hours every other week on asynchronous online assignments and three to four hours every other week on synchronous Zoom meetings.
Only one class is taken in a semester.
Who is Eligible to Participate?
Teacher/staff working with grades K-6 multilingual students in your classroom/school context. Must have a VA teaching license and a bachelor’s degree from a regionally- accredited university.
No, read A12 and A13 (the answer below).
Yes! Be sure to explain in what capacities you are working on a regular basis with/for ELs in your current position. We welcome administrators, psychologists, speech/language pathologists, coordinators, instructional coaches, and librarians. They must have a license in their work field.
We want teachers to become knowledgeable about assessing and teaching multilingual learners. Most of the content presented through the three graduate courses can be applied to any grade level. However, when it comes to strategies, the focus is on literacy skills for elementary multilingual learners.
No, it is not a requirement, but it is preferable. It will be beneficial for you to recruit at least one teacher from your school that you work closely with. We believe that a team of educators can effectively address the needs of multilingual learners. There are some school team assignments, and you will benefit from working with your school members.
Course Design and Process
We meet as a class through Zoom every other week (twice a month), which is synchronous. We start at 4:30 and end around 7:00 p.m. During those class meetings, experts from different fields of multilingualism share their information, and most of the time, teachers have the opportunity to work with other teachers by grade level or with their school team.
During the weeks we do not meet (asynchronously), participants will have videos to watch, chapters to read, and assignments to complete either individually or with their school team.
The third course is offered during the first ODU summer session, which begins the third week of May and ends around the end of June. Because the summer course is shorter, classes are twice a week. However, we meet once a week via Zoom, and during the other times, you will have assignments/projects to complete with your team.
The nine graduate credit hours are the following three courses:
- SPED 601 - English Learners & the Special Education Process (Fall, 2025)
- SPED 602 - Principles of Language Learning & Assessment of English Learners (Spring, 2026)
- SPED 603 - Language, Literature, & Content for English Learners in Inclusive Settings (Summer, 2026)
We will discuss the difficulties in assessing multilingual students because of the similarities between second language acquisition and language/learning disabilities. We will examine the special education process and the role of the MTSS team. We look at the laws that address the rights of all multilingual learners (i.e., those without disabilities, with disabilities, and at risk of a disability). We will apply the WIDA's framework to lesson plans. We will practice writing language goals and become familiar with the WIDA CAN DOS based on students' language proficiency scores.