The University of South Florida's College of Education is celebrating a new milestone in its pipeline program for English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) educators. Project Parasol, a federally funded initiative led by Associate Professor Sara Smith, has officially welcomed its third cohort of participants this fall.
Sara Smith
Funded by a $2.1 million National Professional Development grant, Project Parasol was designed to support ESOL paraprofessionals and teachers as they advance in their careers through higher education. The project is a collaboration between USF and the Manatee County school district, and Smith serves as Principal Investigator.
Project Parasol continues to demonstrate USF's commitment to strengthening schools with a pipeline of highly qualified educators equipped with the latest evidence-based methods, ready to serve all learners throughout the region.
The program's first two cohorts focused on ESOL paraprofessionals who held associate's degrees and wanted to become full classroom teachers. Through Project Parasol, these paraprofessionals earned their Bachelor's degrees in Elementary Education, opening the door to teacher certification and classroom leadership roles.
This new, third cohort marks an exciting evolution for the program. Rather than paraprofessionals working toward a BA, this cohort is made up of ESOL professionals and current teachers pursuing a Master of Education in Secondary Education: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). Notably, four of the nine incoming students are Project Parasol alumni — paraprofessionals from the program's very first cohort who went on to earn their Bachelor's degrees through Parasol and are now returning to pursue their Master's.
"It's incredibly rewarding to see the impact of this pipeline unfold in real time," said Smith. "Watching former paraprofessionals grow into classroom teachers, and now into candidates for a Master's degree in TESOL, shows exactly what this grant was designed to do."
The nine incoming students have been accepted into the grant program and will begin in January.