Madison, Wis. (August 6, 2007) – Edgewood College today announced it has received a $1.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The funds will enable the College to significantly expand its English Language Learning (ELL) training for teachers in at least eight south-central Wisconsin school districts, including the Madison Metropolitan School District.

Dr. Joe Schmiedicke, Dean of the School of Education at the College, said the grant will directly impact the instructional effectiveness of secondary-school teachers across a wide area of the state.

“With this funding, we are in a position to better serve our school systems – systems that face the challenges of educating increasingly language-diverse populations,” Schmiedicke said. “The College will be able to capitalize in a very meaningful way on the momentum we’ve already created. Our new ELL/Bilingual licensing program is meeting a critical need in Wisconsin right now. We’ll see the impact of that program grow significantly as a result of this grant, and our students will be the ones who’ll benefit.”

Schmiedicke said administrators from the Madison Metropolitan School District, the Verona Area School District, the Waterloo School District, the Marshall Public Schools, the Sun Prairie Area School District, the Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District, the Oregon Area School District and the Sauk Prairie School District will coordinate with the College to further develop and implement the ELL program.