About EDU|CAL
The EDU|CAL project aims to produce more Hispanic teachers in an effort to decrease disparities of diversity within the K-12 learning environment.
In 2018, Cal Lutheran was awarded a Title V grant by the US Department of Education to support academic and community engagement activities that will boost the graduation rate of Hispanic students from Cal Lutheran’s K-12 teacher credentialing program.
Why?
According to the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics:
“The quality of a student’s teacher is the single most influential in-school factor in academic achievement and future life outcomes. With the increase in Hispanic population, it is important to have a teaching workforce that reflects the student population in order to meet the demands of our increasingly diverse nation.”
1 in 4
public K-12 students are Hispanic
7.8%
of teachers are Hispanic
2%
of teachers are Hispanic males
What?
Project Goals
- Increase retention and completion rates of Hispanic students by leveraging Cal Lutheran’s Center for Teaching and Learning and redesigning developmental courses to be culturally-responsive; implementing scaffolding strategies that ensure students are prepared to enter introductory course work.
- Increase the number of Hispanic students who enter teacher credentialing programs by developing mechanisms to build a pre-educator learning community; utilizing partnerships with K-12 schools to increase experiential learning and mentoring opportunities for Cal Lutheran pre-educators; and raising awareness about the teaching profession with K-12 students.
- Increase capacity of institution to equitably serve students by increasing staffing in the Office of Sponsored Research and Projects to increase Cal Lutheran’s capacity to pursue funding aimed at enhancing educational opportunities for all students.
Project Design
Objectives for the EDU|CAL project have been established to address weaknesses identified in a comprehensive review of Cal Lutheran’s teacher education programs and counter practices known to disadvantage Hispanic and other underrepresented students.
Theory of Change
Students who feel academically capable, engage in the classroom, connect to peers and the campus community, and are focused on careers will experience student success evidenced by increased persistence toward degree completion.
| Capable | Engaged | Connected | Focused |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
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EDU|CAL project activities will create outcomes to increase the number of Hispanic K-12 teachers through pathways for Hispanic high school, community college, and early college students to declare their intention to becoming a teacher, graduate from a pre-credential program, and successfully earn their teaching credential.
Project Engagement Activities
- Redesign of developmental courses
- Free developmental courses over summer open to high school and community college students
- Mentoring and career coaching
- Tutoring and writing assistance
- First-Year Experience for Pre-Educators
- Education career track courses
- Educators’ Summit
- Teacher Career Fair
- Outreach activities at public schools and community forums
- Spanish language instruction for university faculty and staff
- Development of a web-based community of future teachers
- Grant writing
- EDUCAL Lending Library
More about the Project Activities
Who?
Who will be served?
This grant is targeting Latina and Latino high school, community college, and undergraduate students to enter the pipeline at Cal Lutheran and complete our teacher credential program.
Who will be involved?
A cross-campus team at Cal Lutheran will be involved with implementing and shepherding the project, in addition to new personnel hired through the grant funds.