English Learners

The minimum grant award for Title III is $10,000, therefore it is necessary for low-incidence, rural schools to form a consortium in order to qualify for funds. As far back as 2003-04, the SEEC member schools have formed consortia to apply for Title III funds and have received grants varying from $12,000 - $24,000. In 2008-09, the SEEC began to apply for and manage the Title III grant funds on behalf of member schools. The benefits of membership in our Title III consortium include access to funding for EL endorsement reimbursement, reimbursement for EL related professional development/conference expenses and reimbursement for supplemental materials and activities that enhance the core EL program.

During the 2019-20 school year we used our funds to:

• provide reimbursement for two teachers who are working on their ELL endorsement (total of 19 teachers supported in the last 7 years)
• reimbursed for conference expenses for Dakota TESOL and the DPI Fall Educator’s Conference
• host the EL Program Boot Camp in October for staff working with EL Programs, host a National Geographic webinar on the use of the English language development resources and host an EL Handbook Workshop (handbook is required for all districts with ELs enrolled)
• support supplemental site license or website membership fees along with supplemental language and literacy materials for a number of our member schools (such as RAZ kids, BrainPop ESL and Grammar Gallery)
• provide technical assistance to many of the EL teachers in the consortium (currently offering weekly EL calls)