News
National University Secures $240,000 FIPSE Grant.
Federal money will fund Professor Ventriglia-Navarette's Project LINGOLINK. National University has secured a grant of more than $240,000 from the U.S. Department of Education’s Fund for Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE).
National was one of only five private universities to qualify for the competitive grants, which support graduate programs at institutions of higher education serving Hispanic Americans. The FIPSE grant is titled “Graduate Programs Serving Hispanic Americans,” although it will have a much broader impact, serving a diverse range of students at underperforming schools.
The FIPSE money will fund Project LINGOLINK, established by Sacramento Faculty member Linda Ventriglia-Navarrette, Ph.D. to train teachers in effective vocabulary development strategies that will improve student achievement and help close the achievement gap.
Specifically, the grant will provide complementary books and materials to teachers who are ideally positioned to make a positive impact on improving achievement at schools that have traditionally struggled to achieve academic excellence.
According to current educational research, vocabulary development has the highest correlation with school success across subject areas. Teachers from low achieving schools who are eligible to participate in Project LINGOLINK will be eligible to attend her Saturday-based Immersion Seminars.
The Saturday Seminars will be held through June at various National University campuses across the state, including Stockton, San Jose, Fresno, Bakersfield, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and Las Vegas, Nevada. Discussions have been initiated to also provide attending teachers with University credit toward National University’s Master of Education degree specializing in Best Practices.
The Best Practice Master’s program is based upon 12 years of school-based research on strategies that accelerate students’ achievement and close the achievement gap for diverse learners across subject disciplines.
To make this program a success, Dr. Ventriglia-Navarette is reaching out to schools, administrators and the greater community to attend her Saturday seminars. National University is in a unique position to attract and educate educators with strong ties to, and roots within California’s underserved communities, and play a significant role in addressing the educational needs underserved K-12 students across the state. It ranks first in California in granting master’s in education to all minorities, and ranks first in nation in granting master’s in education to Hispanics.
For more information regarding the FIPSE grant or the Best Practices Master’s program, contact:
Dr. Ventriglia-Navarette at lventrig@nu.edu.
