Student Equity Steering Committee
PROPOSAL SUBMISSION
Deadline March 26
Title of Project: __________ESL SUPPLEMENTAL READING AND WRITING
MATERIALS_______________________
Name of person submitting proposal: _______ Maureen Mason_____________________
E-mail:______ mmason@lbcc.edu______________________________________________
Area/Department/School: ______ESL______________________________________________________________
Date Submitted: _____________3/26/2015_________________________________________________________
Immediate Manager/Department Head name: __________Baruch Elimelech______________________________
(please print)
Immediate Manager/Department Head signature: ___________________________________________________
Date: ___________3/26/2015_______________________________
In order to be considered for funding, please respond completely to all six items below. Please note that
these items are aligned by number with the Project Rating Rubric that the Student Success Committee
will use to rank projects (See Proposal Rating Rubric pp. 5-6). Proposal submissions should be no
more than four pages including this cover sheet. If other departments or divisions are impacted by
this project, please provide evidence of department and/or division support (e.g., email from
department head or manager, meeting minutes).
Proposals are due to Antoinette Summerville (asummerville@lbcc.edu; mail code Y21) in the School of
Student Success no later than 4 p.m. on Thursday, March 26, 2015. Late proposals will not be
considered for this round of proposal funding but will be held for future funding rounds. Please
provide both an electronic copy and an original copy with the required signatures. If you have any
questions, contact: Karen Rothstein (krothstein@lbcc.edu, ext. 4113) or Shauna Hagemann
(shageman@lbcc.edu, ext. 4830)
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1. Project Description
This is a proposal for ESL supplemental reading and writing reference materials. The table of
disproportionate impact clearly shows that Hispanics and unknown ethnicity students have
disproportionate impact in ESL reading and writing, and whites and males in reading. In addition, every
age category from 20 years on shows a disproportionate impact in ESL reading, writing, or both.
According to data provided by Karen Rothstein, Hispanics, whites, and unknown ethnicity make up
73.5% of the ESL population, so nearly three quarters of ESL students fall into the disproportionate
impact category. This proposal aims to increase ESL performance in both reading and writing by
providing necessary support materials in the ESL reading and writing classrooms.
Specifically, we propose to supply strong ESL dictionaries (quite different from non-ESL
dictionaries) and thesauri for in-class supplemental language development. These items are often on
instructors’ “recommended textbook” list at the bookstore, but due to their high cost (over $60 each in
the case of the dictionaries), few ESL students have the resources to purchase them. Furthermore, due
to their weight and value, many students who do purchase them don’t bring them to class. Many
learning opportunities are lost as a result, and these are just the kinds of language development that
non-native speakers of English need to “catch up” with native English speakers. We also propose to
purchase the supplemental writer’s reference book that each ESL writing class “recommends” but that
students often cannot afford.
In addition, we propose to purchase novels and biographies that people who grew up in the
United States are familiar with, but ESL students usually are not. The novels are by “great” writers,
including E.B. White and Roald Dahl and immigrant writers who have similar experiences to our
students, and the biographies will be of significant historical figures, especially Americans, to fill the
cultural and historical gaps that many ESL students have. These will be novels and biographies that
most Americans read between the 4th and 8th grade. This lower grade level reading level is intentional.
ESL students rarely read for pleasure because all of the reading that they are assigned is usually
difficult and not always intrinsically interesting. Studies have proven that the easier material is to read,
the more pleasurable it is to students; the more interesting or entertaining it is, the more pleasurable it
is to read; the more pleasurable reading is, the more students read; and, finally, the more students read,
the easier reading becomes: they become better readers and better writers, for there is a strong
reading and writing connection.
The student equity goals that we aim to address are the following:
Goal B: Course Completion Improving ESL students’ language abilities and making reading
easier will improve their performance in ESL classes and subsequent academic success at the college.
Goal C: ESL Reading, ESL Writing Likewise, improving their language abilities and reading
skills with improve their performance in ESL reading and ESL writing classes.
Goal D: As ESL students improve their reading and writing skills, they will improve their
academic success in other classes. As a result, more will become eligible for transfer and degrees and
certificates.
2. Measure of Success/Evaluation Plan:
We plan to work in conjunction with LBCC research analysts to develop scales to measure
students’ awareness of significant cultural and historical figures. A pre- and post-test will be
administered for two semesters to all students who take an ESL reading or writing class in one of the
supporting reference materials-equipped classrooms. In addition, language awareness measures will be
developed for those same students, also following a pre/post-test format.
3. Number of students/staff/faculty served:
There are approximately ten ESL reading and ten ESL writing classes offered each semester.
These classes are capped at 28, so each semester, approximately 560 ESL reading and writing students
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could potentially be served. There is overlap, so this number could be lower. Likewise, approximately
twenty faculty would benefit from these materials.
4. Scale of the Project:
If this project proves to be successful, it could be scaled up to include other departments in the
School of Language Arts, in particular English and Reading. I do not know the total enrollment in those
department in the basic skills reading and writing classes, but the total enrollment of the English,
Reading, and ESL departments for Spring 2015 is 10,322.
5. Preliminary Budget:
I have already been awarded a grant to furnish two of the ESL reading classrooms with
materials similar to these. They would need very little supplementing from this grant. However, there
are usually eight ESL classrooms in each major time slot (morning, afternoon, and evening) teaching
the more advanced ESL reading and ESL writing classes, so we need to equip an additional six
classrooms. I have already procured six locking bookcases for this project as those are not fundable
with this grant. I am also requesting funds to pay student assistants to label and catalogue the materials
to deter against theft. Finally, I am requesting a faculty stipend to compensate the faculty member in
charge of coordinating the grant (purchasing materials, overseeing student assistants, etc.) and
administering the project assessment and reporting on it if this grant proposal is funded.
Category
Stipend
Student assistant
Estimated Cost Range
$61.78/hour ($1,977 total)
$9.75/hour ($2437)
Supplies/materials:
Estimated number of
hours
32
250
(900 books, 6/hour)
Total cost:
HACKER, POCKET STYLE MANUAL
9780312542542
$34/240 (30 per classroom x
8 classrooms
$7,200
LONGMAN, LONGMAN DICT.OF
AMER.ENGLISH(CL)-W/CD
9780132449793
$62.65/180 (30 per
classroom x 6 classrooms
$11,277
MCCUTCHEON, ROGET'S SUPER
THESAURUS 9781582979991
$15.99/180 (30 per
classroom x 6 classrooms
$2,878
Novels and biographies (30 different
titles, 5 copies each)
$7.99/900 (5 sets of 30 books
per classroom x 6 classrooms
$7,200
Tax
9%
$2,570
Total
$33,565
6. Duration:
This project would start Fall 2015. Students would be assessed at the beginning and end of Fall
2015 and Spring 2016. A report on the results will be generated at the end of Spring 2016.
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