School of Education gets $300,000 from AT&T for project aiding English learners in grades 7-12

UC Irvine’s School of  Education has received a $300,000 gift from AT&T to support its recent $11 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Innovation & Improvement to expand a reading and analytical writing intervention program for English-language learners to Southern California middle and high schools. It’s the School of Education’s first corporate gift. The Pathway Project is aimed at helping English learners

successfully complete courses in core academic subjects and meet the rigorous California Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy. It’s led by Carol Booth Olson, director of the UC Irvine Writing Project and associate professor of education, with assistance from UCI Ph.D. students. The project involves 240 teachers and 105,000 students in grades 7-12 in four school districts across Southern California. Its goal is to close the achievement gap for English learners by providing high-quality professional development to teachers. Student outcomes are expected to include improvements in writing, standardized test scores and high school graduation rates.