Washington, D.C. – Wyoming schools will soon have more resources for foreign language programs thanks to a federal grant under the No Child Left Behind Act, according to Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., Chairman of the Senate Education Committee.

An award of $150,000 was given to the Wyoming Department of Education as part of the Foreign Language Assistance Program (FLAP). The program awards grants to state educational agencies for innovative models to establish, improve or expand foreign language studies in elementary and secondary schools.

Twenty-six elementary schools in Wyoming, along with five other state departments of education teamed up the University of Oregon, the Center for Applied Linguistics and Iowa State University to develop a pilot program to advance foreign language in grades 3-6. The money is being used in Wyoming for an online pilot program which will track the foreign language proficiency of students and allow teachers to improve their curriculum based on the findings.

A total of about $18 million was provided to the FLAP by Congress this year, up $2 million from 2004. Each grant typically ranges from $100,000 to $150,000.

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