Professional Development Certificate Program

Georgetown University’s

Equity and Excellence for English Learners Professional Development Certificate

A Professional Development Certificate for In-Service Teachers

The English Learner population in DCPS and DC public charter schools is increasing, but there is a lack of ESL-certified or trained teachers who can teach equitably in ESL/Dual Language programs. The goal of Georgetown University’s Professional Development Certificate Program is to train effective teachers across general education, ESL, and dual language settings, paying special attention to increasing the pipeline of bilingual teachers in DC.

If you are an experienced DCPS or public charter school teacher without prior preparation in the effective education of English Learners, our hybrid certificate program can help you better serve your culturally and linguistically diverse students.

All applicants to the Equity and Excellence for English Learners Professional Development Certificate will receive scholarship to help cover the cost of the program. Funding for these scholarships is provided by Project ELEECT (new window).

APPLY HERE for the Certificate Program
Interest Form for More Information

Frequently Asked Questions

The English Learners Equity and Excellence Professional Development Certificate provides DC teachers across a variety of content areas and settings with the knowledge and skill they need to implement effective, culturally sustaining pedagogy for their multilingual learners. It is worth 6.4 Continuing Education Units at Georgetown University.

Teachers who are invested in equity, excellence, and antiracism in their work with multilingual learners should apply. The PD will equip K12 teachers across school settings who work with ELLs. This includes general education teachers, content specialists, special education teachers, teachers in bilingual education programs, and teachers who work regularly with ELs but want to improve their training to do so.

The certificate will begin in August 2022 and end in May 2023. It will entail no more than 2 hours of time per week, and will include opportunities to apply learning to your own setting.

Courses will take place in a hybrid format. Each month, there will be two online, synchronous sessions, one week of practical application in your classroom, and one in-person session at Georgetown University.

The total cost of the certificate is $5,000. Scholarship are available to cover $4,000 of an applicant’s cost, with the remaining $1,000 to be covered by the application or by their school. To support healthy cohorts of applicants, discounted costs to schools who send three or more teachers at the same time may be available (please reach out to ProjectEleect@georgetown.edu).

Participants will learn how to implement antiracist, culturally and linguistically sustaining pedagogy for their multilingual learners. You also will engage with equitable practices to support content literacy growth in any subject area to promote academic excellence. Finally, you will learn how to serve as a change agent and policy actor to increase equitable opportunity for ELLs in DC.