By David Hinckley
Three nights a week, teacher Penny Weatherly of the Alpine School District takes a deep breath at the end of another long day, knowing her job isn''t quite done. The remaining task is daunting, though somewhat ironic.
She still has to teach the teachers.
'We teach every night of the week we can squeeze in,' she said, preparing for one such evening.
Around her district, more than 250 teachers converge on these weeknights to sit where their students usually do. When Weatherly shows videos, they''re expected to take notes. When she asks questions, they raise their hands. And at the end of class, of course, they take home homework.
While many teachers thought they left such work behind in college, the scene has become increasingly common. School districts all over the country are scrambling to comply with regulations under President George Bush''s No Child Left Behind Act that require all teachers who work with English Language Learners (often called ESL students) to complete a new set of courses and gain endorsement.
The need for this endorsement has greatly increased in the past decades. The 1990''s saw the number of foreign-born residents explode, moving from about 60,000 reported in the 1990 census to 160,000 in 2000.
The fact can be readily seen in schools across Utah.
'It''s just happening before our eyes,' Egan said, 'and the number of students who speak limited English is only going to increase.'
But the new requirements are trying for many elementary teachers who are accustomed to sending students out of class with instructors who, while not certified teachers, were able to give the students more specialized attention.
'I loved the pull-out program,' said Laura Backshaw, 27, a second-grade teacher. She said she saw good results with the old system, and is somewhat frustrated with the new requirements.
Now, the teachers are expected to be English-learning experts in their classrooms, only relying on the outside specialists as aides.
Although the new requirements have met with stiff resistance from some teachers including Backshaw, many districts are moving slowly toward compliance with this aspect of No Child Left Behind.
Alpine has gone from 50 endorsed teachers four years ago to more than 300 this year, with almost that many in training.
Even still, progress is slow. The 300 endorsed teachers in Alpine make up only about 10 percent of the teaching force for the district, with 200 new teachers hired every year. Most of these new teachers are not endorsed.
At present, most colleges in Utah do not require ESL training in their teaching certification programs.
'The state is going to have to change its certification requirements,' Weatherly said. 'And that''s not popular. But it seems a shame to me to hire brand new teachers that we have to turn around and train.'
BYU students who want the ESL endorsement before graduation must take a separate minor through the linguistics department.
The linguistics program they take is the Bilingual/ESL Endorsement through Distance Education program, or BEEDE. The university has also made BEEDE available to many school districts in the area, leading to the rapid increase in teacher endorsements.
Despite all the complications, though, many students are opting to complete the needed minor, knowing it will come in handy.
Heather Smith, a second-grade teacher in the Alpine program, said the classes are hard work, but worthwhile.
'It''s a challenge getting endorsed while you''re school,' she said. 'But you need to know how to teach , just like all the others.'
Despite the extra hours and occasional teacher opposition, Weatherly said she thinks the district is moving in the right direction.
'It''s a tremendous issue,' she said, preparing for another class. 'And it''s not going to go away.'