Current Nationally Funded Projects

Project KANCO

KANCO is a 5-year grant funded by the Office of Migrant Education, U.S. Department of Education. Primarily serving migrant students in the state of Kansas, project KANCO helps students from migrant and seasonal farm work backgrounds to successfully complete undergraduate studies.

Originally funded in 2009, Kansas State University’s College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) has served over 300 migrant students in postsecondary education, with 86 of those students having completed a post-secondary degree during the eight years the program has existed at K-State. KANCO serves students at 3 sites, K-State, Garden City Community College, and Colorado State University Pueblo. The following services are provided through project KANCO every year:

• Annual recruitment of 50 High School seniors from Kansas and Colorado to attend one of 3 sites
• Scholarship assistance provided to help the costs of tuition, fees, housing, and other education-related expenses during the freshman year of college
• Academic counseling services provided by CAMP staff
• Tutoring services available to assist with coursework completion and exam preparation
• Career exploration and study skill seminars provided in weekly CAMP meetings and other university programs
• Emotional and social support provided in a collegial setting through seminars, peer mentoring, and CAMP advising
• College guidance and transition pathways designed to help students succeed
• Activity involvement in a college atmosphere, which includes celebrations, cultural events, and university activities

Project STEP UP

With the primary objective to improve literacy outcomes for English learners in schools where the highest growth in the EL population has occurred, project STEP UP aims at achieving the following:

• Implement a literacy intervention software program in eight high-need pre-K and elementary schools for ELs that reaches more than 400 ELs
• Provide funding for 60 in-service teachers to complete graduate coursework in TESOL and achieve their ESOL endorsement
• Provide bi-annual professional development opportunities for up to 50 support staff that work closely with ELs and their families
• Provide English-language “academies” lead by ESOL-endorsed teachers to ELs and their families that take place seven Saturdays each semester.

Project STEP UP is a USDE National Professional Development five-year grant based in the Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools.

Project INSIGHT

With a primary focus of building teachers’ capacity for critically reflective ecologies in rapidly changing schools, project INSIGHT provides ESL endorsement to 150 school educators with an emphasis on inquiry based and site-specific learning. This federally funded National Professional Development Project strives to achieve the following expected outcomes:

• ESL endorsement leading to a high level of English learners’ achievement
• Changes in teacher skills, attitudes, and knowledge
• Increased parental involvement in school related activities
• Continued teacher efforts in involving parents in school related activities


Participant educators receive 9 credit hours of graduate-level coursework leading to an ESL (English as a Second Language) Endorsement. The focus of this coursework includes:

• tips and strategies to enhance students’ academic and linguistic competencies
• contextualization of academic concepts within the experience and knowledge that students bring from home, community, and school
• student engagement through instructional conversations and continued parental outreach.