Citation: Rogg, S. (November, 2007). The La Aurora: New Beginnings Project – Final Evaluation Summary. U.S. Department of Education. Office of English Language Acquisition. Bilingual Education Professional Development Career Ladder Program (CFDA #84.195E, grant #T195E010024). Submitted to: Aurora University, Aurora, Illinois.

Background: A discretionary grant of $1.1M from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Language Acquisition was awarded to Aurora University to execute a five-year Career Ladder Program with a start date of 1-September, 2001 and completion date of 31-August, 2006.1 The stated intent of the Career Ladder Program is summarized here: “The program provided discretionary grants to upgrade the qualifications and skills of non-certified education personnel, especially education paraprofessionals. It also was designed to help recruit and train secondary school students as bilingual education teachers.” (U.S. Department of Education Office of Language Acquisition, 2007)

Purpose: Evaluation of La Aurora was conducted as a means to empower the La Aurora Management Team (LAMT) and other primary stakeholders to: (1) ensure the success of La Aurora, especially toward achievement of primary goals; (2) advise the LAMT in the identification of critical questions and conduct of subsequent research; and (3) provide a flexible, responsive, and informed environment for making policy and practice decisions.

Study Sample: The La Aurora project design assumed that effectively all eligible candidates would be enrolled (up to program capacity). Therefore, random assignment to intervention and comparison groups was not an option. Instead, all primary stakeholders (i.e., students, district administrators, university instructors, and project managers) were considered potential contributors to the study of La Aurora.

Intervention: La Aurora intended to increase the number and qualification of ESL/BE teachers through recruitment of high school students (via FEA2), paraprofessionals, and certified teachers toward completion of the Bachelor of Arts with Teaching Certification (BATC), Master of Arts with Teaching Certification (MATC), or ESL/BE Endorsement.

Research Design: Project evaluation was conducted as collaborative naturalistic inquiry (Fitzpatrick, Worthen, & Sanders, 2004; Guba & Lincoln, 1989; Lincoln & Guba, 1985).

Control or Comparison Condition: Meaningful representative samples were neither possible nor warranted in this context. Instead, regular comparisons were made between quantitative program goals and progressive enrollment/completion records. Actionable studies (collaborative inquiry) were chartered to individuals and teams as the need to test assumptions or resolve actionable questions became evident.