Two VSU Professors receive Georgia Board of Regents Recognition

Drs. Inez A. Heath and Barbara Stanley recently received individual Improving Teacher Quality Awards from the Georgia Board of Regents.

Heath, a professor in the Early Childhood and Reading Education Department, received her award for her project, "Quality Teaching through Building English Language Learner's Success: The �Building English Language Learners' Skills (BELLS) Project'." The project provides teachers in-service training through graduate credit hours toward the Georgia English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Endorsement.

"I am very pleased about the �BELLS Project'," Heath said. "This is truly a first step in providing a special opportunity for teachers in our rural service area, as well as better serving our growing linguistically and culturally diverse student population."

Stanley, an assistant professor in the Middle Grades and Secondary Education Department, received her award for her project, "Working to Improve School Success for Hispanic and Latino Students." The project will provide middle grades and high school language arts/English teachers with content in Hispanic and Latino literature and culture. Also, the project will offer instructional strategies geared toward meeting the learning needs of students who are English language learners.

"I look forward to working with the teachers in Colquitt County to help them meet the needs of an increasing Hispanic student population in their schools," Stanley said.

Teacher Quality Grants enable university faculty and school systems to work collaboratively to help teachers participate in professional development activities to enhance their curriculum.