The George Washington University
Bilingual Special Education Program
Learning through Interdisciplinary Frameworks
for Teachers (LIFT)
Amy Mazur, Ed.D., Principal Investigator.
Contact info: amazur@gwu.edu; 202-994-1511
History and background

Offers graduate teacher preparation at the
certificate, M.A., Ed.S., and Ed.D. levels

NCATE recognition in ESOL, special
education, and bilingual special education

Established in the 1980s in response to
identified school system and national needs

One of only seven bilingual special
education programs in the U.S.
History and background (cont’d)

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Currently has over 167 enrolled students,
including both grant-funded and paying
students
Recipient of numerous U.S. Department of
Education grants (six professional
development grants at present)

Established an online-learning program
serving national and international students

Impetus for the LIFT project
Demographics – America’s
school-aged children


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There are currently 74,548,215 children
living in U.S.
951,329 are Native American/Alaskan
Native
2,491,422 identify 2 or more races
Demographics – America’s
school-aged children (cont’d)

3,480,257 are Asian/Pacific Islander

11,280,366 are Black

16,750,075 are Hispanic

41,225,410 are White
Children’s Defense Fund, 2010
Demographics – child poverty in
the United States


15.5 million, or 1 in every 5 in America,
lived in poverty in 2009 – this is an
increase of nearly 4 million since 2000
Almost half of all poor children (6.9 million)
lived in extreme poverty (less than half the
poverty rate)
Children’s Defense Fund, 2010
LIFT project goals
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Infuse a cross-disciplinary set of
competencies into an existing, nationally
recognized teacher preparation program
Institutionalize improvements within the
program and share knowledge gained
throughout the University
Develop a cross-disciplinary framework to
ensure further collaboration
LIFT project goals (cont’d)


Disseminate ideas and knowledge gained
from this work to a national audience in
order to facilitate similar processes at other
universities
Provide technical assistance to other
universities seeking to adopt a similar focus
Key stakeholders/advisors

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University experts in ESOL, sociology,
public health, medicine, nursing, and
related fields
Experts from peer universities in English for
Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)
programs
Collaborators from advocacy, policy and
research organizations (e.g., National
Association of School Psychologists, School
Social Work Association, etc.)
Activities to date
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Collaboration with University ACCESS
Institute for ELL Students’ Success
Development of survey for current and
prospective students regarding professional
knowledge
Communication with advisory board,
stakeholders, and panels of experts
Activities to date (cont’d)
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Needs assessment discussions with panel of
experts in teacher preparation and English
learners
Initial meetings and conference calls with
advisory panel scheduled for summer and
fall
Meetings with evaluator and consultation
on research design
Upcoming/pending activities
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Development and deployment of survey
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Continued needs assessment activities
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Modification of objectives, competencies
and activities in core courses
Development of project website and social
networking forum
Reference:
Children’s Defense Fund. (2010). State of the Children
Report. http://www.childrensdefense.org/childresearch-data-publications/data/state-of-americaschildren.pdf.
Questions or Comments