The Illinois Resource Center is proud to announce an exciting new computer science professional development program for motivated teachers who serve English learner students in Illinois. This is the first program of its kind solely directed towards teachers working with English learners.
This innovative program, in partnership with Digital Leaders Now (DLN), the Learning Technology Center of Illinois (LTCI), and CODE.org, is designed to respond to today’s digital learning and computer science integration needs, as well as to lay the groundwork for English learner students to access a variety of growing career opportunities. As fast-growing career tracks open in fields from coding and network operations to healthcare to digital art and music production, computer science integration and instruction in EL classrooms is essential to ensure these students have the same opportunities as their monolingual peers upon entering the workforce.
The program seeks to bring EL teachers to high levels of proficiency in software coding and computer science skills for direct instructional use in their classrooms. The long-term goal of the program is to have trained EL teachers who will help usher EL students into good tech-rich jobs that may not have been previously accessible to them.
Teachers accepted into the program will be able to participate at no cost and without losing classroom time, with virtual instruction taking place on nights and weekends. The inaugural cohort offers a wealth of opportunities for participating teachers, including:
  • Virtual instruction from code.org facilitators for a safe, flexible learning environment
  • Strategies and resources to energize & engage learners with tech-enabled curricula
  • An intensive summer institute with travel expenses paid
  • 50 professional development credit hours
  • A $2,000 stipend for those selected to participate
By participating in this program, members of the inaugural cohort have an extraordinary opportunity to not only be part of a groundbreaking new project that will equip EL teachers and students for future success, but to serve as a model for schools across Illinois and the entire country.
Interested participants may contact Silvia V. Rogel at srogel@cntrmail.org or register at the link below by February 24th, 2022.