BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State University’s Office of Rural Promise (ORP) has secured a $10 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Education to launch a new statewide initiative, ETL SPARK (Empowering Teacher Learning: Strengthening Professional learning to Advance Reading Knowledge). This five-year research project will partner with school districts across North Carolina to study how teacher-directed professional learning in middle grades literacy can elevate classroom instruction and empower educators, providing targeted support to middle school literacy educators.
Dr. James Beeler, executive director of App State’s Office of Rural Promise, expressed enthusiasm for the program’s potential, noting its aim to "support educators, strengthening literacy for students in the middle grades" and create "meaningful opportunities for educators to shape their own professional learning." Beeler explained that while North Carolina has invested heavily in elementary literacy, ongoing, individualized professional development for middle grades literacy has remained limited, often leaving little room for autonomy or responsiveness to local needs. ETL SPARK aims to bridge these gaps.
Through ETL SPARK, teachers gain significant agency in their professional development. Educators will set individualized professional learning goals and choose how to pursue them, allowing them to shape their growth based on the specific needs identified for their classrooms. Each participant will also receive individualized support from an assigned educational navigator throughout the program. School administrators will benefit from a user-friendly, comprehensive system designed for implementing individualized professional development that aligns with school-level priorities. Beeler noted that this approach "reflects App State’s mission to serve communities through outreach, partnership and research," ensuring educators receive meaningful, high-quality support.
This new initiative builds upon the success of ORP’s recently completed Empowering Teacher Learning (ETL) model. The original ETL project, a five-year, $12 million federally funded initiative, was launched in 2021 in middle schools across Western North Carolina. It focused on teacher-directed, competency-based professional learning and demonstrated its effectiveness in strengthening instructional quality, creating clearer pathways for educators to earn microcredentials, and supporting teacher retention. ETL SPARK expands on this foundational model in three key ways: by reaching broader communities across North Carolina, focusing specifically on middle grades literacy, and offering an enhanced system for individualized professional development goals.
During the earlier phase of the project, participating teachers showed significant improvements in instructional quality after just one year, with these gains sustained over time. These improvements were measured using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS), a recognized tool for analyzing the quality of teacher-child interactions. Dr. Jui-Teng Li, associate director of research and evaluation for the Office of Rural Promise, shared that teachers found the model to be "flexible, relevant, rigorous, and empowering," describing it as a welcome change from traditional professional learning. Furthermore, schools involved in the original project reported encouraging declines in teacher turnover, highlighting a clear connection between teacher confidence and retention. Li emphasized that when teachers "feel empowered and confident in their role, students benefit." The foundational research findings from ORP’s ETL project include that teacher-directed professional learning improves instructional quality, creates clear pathways to microcredentials, supports teacher retention, and fosters teacher confidence and empowerment.
The ETL SPARK program will be supported by several collaborators, including the University of Memphis, Public Impact, Digital Promise, and the Center for Open Education. ORP plans to begin recruiting school districts statewide in the coming months. The first group of participants for ETL SPARK will launch once district partners are confirmed. Districts interested in bringing this professional learning model to their schools are encouraged to contact Kelley Wilson, ETL SPARK program director, for more information. Dr. Beeler concluded that investing in educators and honoring their voice and expertise helps "create brighter futures for every student."
