CORVALLIS, Ore. - Oregon State University has won a $400,000 grant to study how best to assist students who are English learners and also have disabilities, continuing the work of the Oregon English Learner Alliance.

The three-year grant comes from the Chicago-based Spencer Foundation, which supports high-quality educational research projects that are focused on improving education.

Karen Thompson, an assistant professor in OSU's College of Education, will lead the project in partnership with the Oregon Department of Education.

The alliance was established in 2012 in an effort to improve educational outcomes for Oregon's English language learners. It's part of a larger effort by the Oregon Department of Education to improve educational outcomes for students learning English.

Students who do not speak English proficiently when they enter school are considered English language learners. The number of English language learners in Oregon has grown dramatically over the last 20 years and now makes up about 10 percent of the state's kindergarten- through 12th-grade population.

When students are able to demonstrate proficiency in English, they are no longer considered English language learners and are reclassified as English proficient students. It takes most Oregon students between four and seven years to demonstrate the English proficiency necessary to be reclassified. Of the students who have not been reclassified by middle school, about 30 percent qualify for special education services, Thompson said.

"That has implications for English learner education as well as for special education services, which are often quite separate," Thompson said. "Ultimately we hope to partner with districts to design and pilot new tools for this group of students."

The Spencer Foundation grant is the second major grant the alliance has received for its work. The funding will allow researchers to conduct more in-depth research on students who are English learners and also have disabilities.

"One of our overarching goals is to build strong partnerships with school districts and through our work, influence both policy and practice for English learners in Oregon," Thompson said. "Special education is an area that provides opportunity to do that. We will also continue to work in other areas, both through the alliance and through other efforts underway at OSU."

For example, Thompson and other college faculty are starting a dual language program to prepare teachers to teach content in two languages.

With the latest grant, one of the questions researchers will explore is whether English learners who qualify for special education services should be evaluated for reclassification in the same manner as their peers who do not qualify for special education.

"If a student has acquired language skills that are comparable to a native English speaker with a similar disability, should they still be considered English language learners?" Thompson asked.  

Research in other areas affecting English learners also is possible with the new grant, Thompson said. The alliance hopes to recruit school districts as partners in the effort and several have agreed to participate so far, she said.

Source: 

Karen Thompson, 541-737-2988, [email protected]

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