Alvin Killough, Ph.D., has agreed to serve as co-investigator for a grant application submitted to the U.S. Department of Education by the Minnesota Minority Education Partnership (MMEP). The proposal, the result of collaboration, seeks to examine the links between instructional strategies and the academic proficiency to student of color enrolled as English Language Learners (ELL).

The 5-year $2.6 million grant proposal includes a research center located in Minnesota specifically designed to provide a focused plan of research to document both the academic needs of and successful practices used for engaging recent immigrant students in the K-8 learning process.  The goal of the research is to effect changes in instructional practices to reflect scientific findings, and thereby, serve as science - practitioner advocate for policy change.

Killough explains, "We find this grant submission a tremendous opportunity to address, as a research collaborative, not only the overrepresentation of recent immigrant students in ELL and their disproportionately failure to achieve proficiency on standardized tests, but to establish the significance of examining the entire context surrounding ELL instruction delivery as well.  We believe the findings from this exploratory research will be invaluable for teachers and other practitioners, and policy makers."

The primary partners in the collaboration include Minneapolis Public Schools, Saint Paul Public Schools, Strengthening Africans Toward Excellence, and an allied host of national consultants.

Killough is an assistant professor in the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Department at the U of M, Crookston. He teaches as a cultural ecological psychologist and has long advocated for underserved and understudied populations through his scholarly research and public speaking engagements.
 
Today the University of Minnesota, Crookston delivers more than 25 applied-science undergraduate degree programs and 50 concentrations, including several online degrees, in agriculture; arts, humanities and social sciences; business; math, science and technology; and natural resources. To learn more, visit www.UMCrookston.edu.