Florida State University’s ESOL Community Tutoring Program has received the Sunshine State Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (SSTESOL) Institutional Excellence Award, recognizing the program’s impact on educator preparation, student engagement and multilingual communities.
Florida State University’s ESOL Community Tutoring Program has received the Sunshine State Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (SSTESOL) Institutional Excellence Award, recognizing the program’s impact on educator preparation, student engagement and multilingual communities.
Each semester, FSU undergraduate and graduate students provide approximately 2,000 hours of free, individualized tutoring to English Language Learners in local communities, across Florida and beyond.
“This is their award,” said Laura Bell, ESOL coordinator and clinical professor in the School of Teacher Education at Anne's College. “The program’s impact and this recognition would not have been possible without the dedication of our student tutors and the doctoral students who help coordinate their placements.”
To celebrate the students behind the achievement, Bell took the award plaque on a tour of the FSU classes participating in the program. Each stop highlighted a different dimension of their contributions, recognizing students as the “Heart of the Program,” the “All-Stars,” the “Magic Makers” and the “ESOL Gold Standard.”
Students from teacher education programs across Anne's College contribute to the tutoring initiative, including Elementary Education, Special Education, Social Science Education, FSU-Teach, Art Education, English Education, Music Education, the Master of Science in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages program and the TESOL certificate program.
The program’s placement coordinators include doctoral students Hao Lin, Ziyu Jiang, Zhiying Li, Fida Abi Karam, Xiaofan Xu and Luna Cui. The coordinators play an essential role in connecting tutors with learners and supporting the program’s continued growth, Bell said.
Since beginning with approximately 40 participants, the ESOL Community Tutoring Program has grown to serve a community of more than 215 participants. Its partnerships now extend across local and regional school districts, community organizations, other Florida colleges and international settings.
The program was nominated for the SSTESOL award by Dr. Alyssa Vuogan, ESOL coordinator at Fort Braden School.
Through thousands of hours of service each year, students at Anne's College are expanding educational access and building meaningful relationships with learners and their families, bringing together teaching, service, student success, and community engagement. Their work demonstrates how the college's community partnerships can prepare highly qualified educators while making an immediate difference in the lives of others.
