(C) Verite News New Orleans This story was originally published by Verite News New Orleans and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . State school board approves new certification program for educating English learners [1] ['Safura Syed', 'Verite News New Orleans', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Where Img', 'Height Auto Max-Width', 'Vertical-Align Bottom .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar'] Date: 2025-10-15 The Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary on Wednesday (Oct. 15) approved a new program that, proponents hope, will help address a statewide shortage of teachers for students who are not proficient in the English language, also known as English language learners. The certification program will be offered by TeachNOLA, an alternative teacher training program that currently offers training for teaching, special education and early childhood education. TeachNOLA recruits locals who are new to the teaching sector and those who may already be working in schools without certification in efforts to increase teacher-retention rates in New Orleans schools. Louisiana had the second highest rate of growth in English language learners between 2011 and 2021, according to a report from the National Council on Teacher Quality. In Orleans Parish, around 9% of kindergarten through 8 graders and 5% of high schoolers are English learners. Milton Pereda, the senior manager of instruction at TeachNOLA, said “one of the largest needs” expressed by charter operators across New Orleans has been for teacher training of English learners. “There aren’t any other alternative options, like our program where anybody in the state could complete the coursework online, under our supervision, while receiving our coaching and development and be certified without having to actually go to a university and have actual university seat time, like in a night class after they’ve been teaching all day,” Pereda said. Eighth grade math teacher and 2024 teachNOLA alum Julian Terry instructs students in his classroom at Arthur Ashe Charter School in New Orleans on October 15, 2025. Credit: Christiana Botic/Verite News and Catchlight Local/Report for America BESE member Sharon Clark, whose district includes most of Orleans Parish, said the approval of the program reflects a commitment to equity in a written statement to Verite News. “Louisiana’s classrooms are becoming more linguistically and culturally diverse, and our educators must be prepared to meet the needs of every learner,” Clark said. “BESE’s approval of TeachNOLA’s ESL certification strengthens our teacher pipeline by creating new opportunities for educators to develop the skills and credentials needed to support English learners effectively.” The English learner certification program will be fully online and offered statewide starting next school year. Tuition for all of TeachNOLA’s programs is around $4,700, but most people end up paying less after private and state scholarships. Some school districts and charter operators also subsidize costs for certification. Nancy Turner, the program director at TeachNOLA, said the program is necessary for the state, and that TeachNOLA followed all of the state’s “rigorous processes” to gain approval. “We are excited and grateful to be able to offer this new program and see it is [a] big win for Louisiana teachers and students,” Turner said. Certification programs for early childhood, special education, elementary school, middle school and secondary subjects open early next month. Training starts in January for those who are already teachers and working in a TeachNOLA partner school and in May for those who are new to teaching. The program to certify educators of English learners will open in the 2026-2027 school year. Related Most Read Stories Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license. Republish This Story [END] --- [1] Url: https://veritenews.org/2025/10/15/teaach-nola-certification-english-learners/ Published and (C) by Verite News New Orleans Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 US. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/veritenews/