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Portland, OR--Today Congressman David Wu congratulated Portland Community College on their grant award from the U.S. Department of Education. Portland Community College (PCC) will be receiving $148,180 over the next five years to support their Portland Paraeducator Opportunity Program, a partnership between PCC and Portland Public Schools to better prepare those who educate English Language Learners.
"Today's announcement is a win-win situation for both educators and students," said Congressman David Wu. "Not only will our schools be able to provide a better education for those students who struggle with the English language, helping to erase the achievement gap, but participants will grow professionally, having the opportunity to earn an associate's degree and enter a teacher education program."
The Portland Paraeducator Opportunity Program will help fill the shortage of qualified educators who work with English Language Learners (ELL). Participants will be recruited based on their multilingual and multicultural backgrounds and enter into an education and training program that will lead to an associate's degree and the opportunity to pursue a higher degree. With better trained teachers, the education community is hopeful that ELL students will improve academically, both in the classroom and on achievement exams.
The Portland Paraeducator Opportunity Program is another example of how PCC reaches beyond the traditional classroom setting, not only housing the program at PCC's Southeast Center, but also in Portland Public Schools (PPS). The close partnership is essential to PPS as it will aid in addressing the needs of a growing ELL population. Presently, 11% of the district's student population is ELL students.
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