Contact: Nick Wilson

805-235-8008; [email protected]

SAN LUIS OBISPO — Cal Poly’s School of Education has received two highly competitive grants, totaling more than $8 million, from the U.S. Department of Education to help address a variety of critical issues and areas of need in education.

With the funding, School of Education faculty and staff will recruit, train and support a diverse pool of more than 1,500 teachers; help address current classroom challenges and teacher shortages; better serve bilingual students and students with disabilities; and continue to encourage long-term career success for program graduates.

About one in 10 of all teaching positions across the U.S. are unfilled or filled by individuals without certifications, according to data published by the educational research organization WestEd, a partner organization on one of the grants. Bilingual elementary and special education teachers are among the most prevalent groups with shortages.

“I hear from superintendents all the time about the need for teachers, including in specialized teaching areas such as special education and English learner instruction,” said Chance Hoellwarth, director of the School of Education. “We’re really trying to change the local educational environment in a variety of synergistic ways that I believe will be impactful for students, teacher candidates and teachers.”

Cal Poly will partner on this work with school districts in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties, Cuesta and Allan Hancock community colleges, as well as community organizations including the Mixteco Indigena Community Organizing Project and the California Mini-Corps Program.

A $3,342,565 grant will be used to support Cal Poly’s Bilingual Responsive Instruction for Language Learners and New Teachers/Educators project. BRILLANTE’s goals include recruiting and supporting 80 undergraduate bilingual scholars and training 135 bilingual educators to complete their Spanish bilingual authorization — equipping all to serve diverse student populations in schools across the state.

“We’re seeking to develop a workforce that is Ready Day One and prepared to be successful and be long-term educators,” said Tina Cheuk, a School of Education associate professor and co-principal investigator of the grant.

BRILLANTE will build on Cal Poly’s Teaching for Inclusivity and Equity Residency (TIER) program, which provides living wage stipends to residents who aspire to teach in special education and bilingual classrooms in local high-need schools. 

A separate $4,676,106 grant will support the Cal Poly Innovative Support and Preparation of Inclusive and Resilient Educators program. INSPIRE’s goals include: recruiting a more diverse pool of prospective teachers and school leaders; refining clinical experiences and curricula to align with research-based practices in inclusive education; and creating opportunities for additional certification via specialized micro-credentials.

The INSPIRE project aims to support 775 prospective teachers and school leaders through revised and improved clinical experiences and courses, 225 new teachers and school leaders through a wrap-around induction program (involving teacher-training education and support and mentorship of new instructors within their first two years on the job), 200 experienced in-service teachers through professional development, and issue micro-credentials to 150 in-service teachers/school leaders, particularly from high-need districts.

“We’re seeking to best prepare aspiring and current teachers to succeed at a time when we know teachers say they face a lot of challenges and stressors, and some are choosing to leave the profession,” said Stephen Crutchfield, an associate professor in the School of Education and a co-principal investigator of the INSPIRE grant. “There will be new courses that are developed and a wide range of new trainings.”

The grants will fund development of models and programs at a variety of institutional levels and involve educational leadership in the process.

“We’re going to be involved in supporting the entire trajectory of the teaching career, from recruitment all the way through our teacher-training programs and continuing to provide support for practicing teachers,” said Jess Jensen, an associate professor in the School of Education, and a co-principal investigator of the INSPIRE grant. “The school districts, community colleges, Cal Poly and partner organizations all offer different areas of expertise, and we want to break down silos and effectively improve the system to sustain a successful teaching workforce.”