Supports and Incentives for Virginia’s In-service Teachers
- Each participant will receive paid tuition for three graduate courses (9-semester graduate hours) on literacy skills for multilingual students with and without disabilities.
- Courses will be provided in a hybrid format (i.e., synchronous and asynchronous) over three semesters.
- Each participant will receive books, supplies, and teaching materials paid for by the project.
- Each participant will receive $1,500.00 to spend on educational materials (e.g., computers, children’s books).
- Graduate hours can be applied towards a pay raise and renewal of a teaching license.
- Participants will work in teams to experience collaboration among education professionals.
- Participants will learn how to better engage families and communities in the development of multilingual learners' literacy skills.
- Participants will learn evidence-based literacy instruction for multilingual learners
Admission Requirements
- The applicant must have earned a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution.
- The applicant must have a valid teaching or professional license.
- The applicant must be teaching in an elementary school in Virginia.
- The applicant must have a signed recommendation form by the principal or immediate supervisor.
- It is recommended that participants apply as a team of at least three educators from the same school.
Reason for a team: A team of educators with diverse expertise is critical for success in better serving the needs of multilingual students. Teamwork is key to success.
Application
If you are interested in participating as an In-service TEAMS-2 participant, please review this In-Service TEAMS-2 Application Checklist, download the forms, complete them, and sign them:
- In-service TEAMS-2 Application form
- In-service Recommendation form signed by your school Principal or immediate supervisor
- Signed In-Service Obligation Requirements and Agreement
Please email the In-service Application, Principal Recommendation, and In-Service Obligation Requirements and Agreement signed forms to Dr. Sharon Judge: sjudge@odu.edu.
Testimonials from Previous In-service Educators
- “My highlight was to be able to collaborate and hear experiences from teachers from all over the state. Just knowing what’s going on is the biggest thing. I just think it was a really good learning opportunity. It's work, but it's such an opportunity for our teachers.”
- “The TEAMS-2 program has provided me with resources and confidence to speak up at MTSS meetings about L2 students and where they should be in their language learning.”
- “It was a tough year for me professionally, but I am so thankful that I was enrolled in this class and had some strategies that I could use right away with the group of ELLs I teach.”
- “Just learning about the morphology and different ways to help teachers teach students. Additionally, the deep dive into WIDA Access assessment helped me think about ways to help teachers better understand those scores and how they can use that information to instruct students.”
- “I had a surface understanding of what WIDA is, like, it's a language score, yes. There are these four different areas or domains, yes. After having the practical experience, just really thinking more thoughtfully and reflectively about those four language domains, and what that learning looks like for L1s and L2s. They're not just sitting in a classroom absorbing, but they also have opportunities to engage with the lessons and the materials. I think that's the biggest thing: reflecting on those different levels for my students and trying to help to share that information with teachers in a way that's most useful for student learning.”
- “I think one thing that I appreciated and took away was the language learning process of a student. Knowing the different stages that they typically will go through and what is to be expected when a student is in the process of learning a language. So those were some of the things that I took away and I appreciated getting more information on.”
- “This experience has been one of the hardest and most rewarding things I have ever done. I didn't think I would make it but thank God for my co-workers. We were able to collaborate and work together to use our different strengths and talents to help each other be successful during this experience.
- “The most valuable thing I learned was how to think about my ELs. The case study really helped me consider what factors affect my students' success and what I can do as a teacher to help students succeed as I collect data.”
- “I do feel like I learned a lot about what students who are ELs are like and the challenges they face. I learned a lot about laws and definitions when it came to students with disabilities. I learned a lot about how languages can differ and resources I can use to see why a student may be having trouble learning English based on their native language and the differences between the two.”