Learning
TESOL program earns award from national association
The Muskingum University TESOL Summer Program has earned the 2016 Rose Duhon-Sells Multicultural Program Award from The National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME). TESOL stands for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages.
NAME granted the award to Muskingum’s program at its 26th Annual International Conference, held in Cleveland in early November. Rose Duhon-Sells is credited with the creation of the association in 1990.
Dr. Joy Cowdery is the coordinator of TESOL preparation for teachers at Muskingum and spearheaded the creation of summer camp programs in six Ohio Districts. The program instructs licensed teachers to address the needs of English Language Learners during Muskingum University summer camps created for the districts' immigrant population. The intensive, 7-week program gives teachers direct experience with the type of students they will be working with in their own classrooms.
“This award is a credit to everyone in the Education Department at Muskingum University,” said Education Department Chair Dr. Rae White, “but Dr. Cowdery’s leadership and spirit of innovation has been a key to the success of the TESOL Summer Program.”
After receiving this accolade, the Ohio Senate honored the University, program and Dr. Cowdery with a letter of recognition and praise.
The TESOL program at Muskingum directly addresses the growing need in public schools to accommodate students for whom English is not their first language. In Ohio alone, there are an estimated 35,000 students in grade levels K-12 who need and want to learn English.
NAME has 1,500 members from the United States and other countries, including educators from preschool through higher education and representatives from businesses and communities. Both the national association and its local chapters provide networking, training and outreach to support the goals of multicultural education at all levels.
