The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, in partnership with the Bradley, Hamilton, Grundy, Marion, Polk, Rhea, Sequatchie, Catoosa, Walker County, and Cleveland City school systems, has developed a program to train teachers in methods for helping students of diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds to achieve academic success.

A grant from the U.S. Department of Education provides 80% of the funding for this project and additional funds are provided through the University of Tennessee. Under the terms of the grant, tuition payment for courses leading to ESL endorsement is available for teachers currently teaching in public schools in the counties listed above. Students who do not work for these nine counties can still participate at their own cost.

Through the grant program, current education majors may earn the ESL endorsement. The grant pays for the tuition of ESL courses that are not already required by the primary education degree program. For more information on how to apply to the grant program please refer to the application link.