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Project GLAD (Guided Language Acquisition Design) is a professional development model for teaching academic content and language together, developed by teachers in Fountain Valley, California, and now held by the Orange County Department of Education (OCDE), whose National Training Center runs the training. In the elementary Foundations training, teachers attend a two-day research and theory workshop that introduces about thirty strategies, followed by a four- or five-day classroom demonstration with real students. This guide explains how the training works, what it costs, the best-known strategies, and the questions districts should ask before adopting it.
Table of contents
Executive Summary
Project GLAD is one of the best-known named training models for teachers of English Learners. Its appeal is concrete: teachers watch a trainer teach a unit to students, with the strategies in action, before planning their own. It is delivered by the OCDE Project GLAD National Training Center and by certified agency trainers and regional training centers in other states.
For districts, GLAD is an investment decision. Foundations training costs thousands of dollars per teacher once substitutes are counted, and building in-house trainers costs more. The return depends on follow-up: whether teachers get time, coaching and planning support to use the units after the training ends.
Key Takeaways
- Project GLAD is a model for integrating English language development with grade-level content.
- Elementary Foundations training takes six or seven days: two days of research and theory, then a four- or five-day classroom demonstration.
- The research and theory workshop introduces about thirty strategies, which teachers then see students use in the demonstration.
- OCDE’s 2025 open-enrollment elementary Foundations training in Orange County cost $2,500; regional prices vary.
- Districts can certify their own trainers through a multi-step Training of Trainers process.
- The training is offered in English, Spanish or bilingually, with early childhood and secondary versions.
What District Leaders Need to Know
- The demonstration needs a host classroom. On-site training runs with real students, so the host school must plan its schedule with the trainer.
- Substitute costs are part of the price. Six or seven days away from class per teacher adds substantially to tuition.
- Follow-up decides the outcome. Without coaching and planning time, strategies can fade after the first unit.
- In-house capacity is expensive but durable. OCDE lists agency trainer certification at $12,000 per team member plus OCDE staff travel for its 2026-27 cohorts, with renewal training within a year and every three years after.
- Evaluate locally. Plan how you will measure changes in English Learner participation and achievement before you scale.
Funding Options
| Funding source | Eligible uses for GLAD | How to access |
|---|---|---|
| Title III, Part A | Supplemental PD for teachers of English Learners | Formula grant; supplement, not supplant |
| Title II, Part A | Evidence-based professional development and coaching | Formula grant through the state |
| Title I, Part A | Professional development in schoolwide programs | Formula grant; schoolwide plan |
| State EL funding | Program-level training, where state rules allow | State funding formula |
See what Title III funds can be used for and what Title II funds can be used for.
District Benchmark
Suppose a district trains 30 elementary teachers in Foundations at $2,500 each: $75,000 in tuition. Add six substitute days per teacher at an illustrative $150 a day, another $27,000. The total, about $102,000, is roughly $3,400 per teacher before any follow-up coaching.
That figure is not a reason to avoid GLAD. It is a reason to budget for the follow-up that makes the training pay off, and to compare it with other ways of building the same capacity.
What Is Project GLAD?
Definition. OCDE Project GLAD is a model of professional development and instruction that integrates English language development with grade-level content through units built around a set of strategies that OCDE describes as research-based, delivered by certified trainers.
A GLAD unit typically opens with focus and motivation activities and visual input on content, moves through guided oral practice and reading and writing, and ends with students producing work independently. The model emphasizes vocabulary-rich visual input, oral language practice and cooperative group work.
Project GLAD Strategies
Among the best-known GLAD strategies are:
| Strategy | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Pictorial Input Chart | Introduce content vocabulary with a large visual drawn in front of students |
| Cognitive Content Dictionary | Build academic vocabulary through prediction and discussion |
| Observation Charts | Spark curiosity and questions before a unit |
| Chants | Practice language patterns and content orally |
| Process Grid | Organize information for comparison and writing |
| Expert Groups | Read and share content cooperatively |
| Sentence Patterning Chart | Practice parts of speech and sentence structure |
Teachers see these and other strategies used in sequence during the classroom demonstration.
Project GLAD Training: How It Works
- Research and theory workshop (2 days). The research base, the strategies and an introduction to GLAD units.
- Classroom demonstration (4 or 5 days). Trainers teach a unit to students while participants observe, debrief and plan.
- Implementation. Teachers build and teach their own unit, ideally with coaching.
- Optional trainer pathway. Agency teams of two to five GLAD teachers can enter the Training of Trainers process to become certified agency trainers.
What This Looks Like in Practice
Consider a district that trains a grade-level team together, hosts the demonstration in one of its own classrooms and schedules monthly planning time so teachers build their next unit as a team. A coach would visit each classroom once per unit. After a year, the team could have three units to reuse and a shared language for English Learner instruction.
Common Mistakes
- Training individual teachers alone, without a team to plan with.
- Skipping follow-up coaching and planning time.
- Underestimating substitute costs and scheduling for the demonstration.
- Adopting GLAD without a plan to measure English Learner outcomes.
- Treating GLAD as a complete English Learner program rather than one part of it.
Recommended Actions
Immediate (this month)
- Get current pricing and dates from OCDE or your regional training center.
- Identify a pilot team and a host classroom.
Medium-Term (this year)
- Budget for coaching and planning time, not just tuition.
- Define measures of success for English Learners before training begins.
Long-Term (strategy)
- Decide whether to certify in-house trainers once results justify it.
- Integrate GLAD with your English language development standards and other PD.
Questions District Leaders Should Ask
- What do we expect to change for English Learners, and how will we measure it?
- Can we provide coaching and planning time after the training?
- What is the full cost per teacher, including substitutes?
- How will GLAD fit with our ELD standards and curriculum?
FAQ
What is Project GLAD in education?
A professional development and instructional model, run by the Orange County Department of Education, that integrates English language development with grade-level content through structured units and strategies.
How long is Project GLAD training?
Elementary Foundations training takes six or seven days: a two-day research and theory workshop and a four- or five-day classroom demonstration. OCDE’s preschool version runs five days.
How much does Project GLAD training cost?
OCDE’s 2025 open-enrollment elementary Foundations training in Orange County cost $2,500, and its 2026-27 preschool Foundations training is listed at $2,088. Regional centers set their own prices, and substitute costs are extra.
What are the main Project GLAD strategies?
Well-known strategies include the Pictorial Input Chart, Cognitive Content Dictionary, Observation Charts, Chants, Process Grid and Expert Groups.
Is Project GLAD only for English Learners?
No. It was designed with English Learners in mind, but the strategies are used with whole classes.
Related Resources
- Teacher Professional Development Requirements by State
- The SIOP Model
- Professional Development Topics for Teachers
- Professional Development Grants for Teachers
- What Can Title III Funds Be Used For?
Conclusion
Project GLAD gives teachers something many trainings do not: the chance to watch strategies work with real students before trying them. Its value for a district depends less on the days of training than on what follows them: planning time, coaching and a clear way to measure what changes for English Learners.
Sources: OCDE Project GLAD National Training Center, Foundations Training; OCDE, Elementary English Foundations Training 2025; OCDE, Training of Trainers Application 2026-2027; OCDE, Preschool Foundations Training 2026-2027; OCDE Newsroom, Q&A on Project GLAD, 2018; Dual Language Education of New Mexico, OCDE Project GLAD.
After the Demonstration Ends
Teachers often leave a strong training energized, then return to a schedule with no time to build the next unit and a class where six students are at different levels of English. We ask them to sustain new strategies alone, and even the best training fades without practice and feedback.
Districts can pair named models like GLAD with shorter, sustained learning that teachers apply in cycles. Telo AI’s 15-hour course for a whole staff, AI for Every Teacher, is one example: over eight weeks, four core modules on safe AI use, planning, feedback and workload, then a two-module track; its English Learner track covers lessons for each proficiency level, a speaking station that adds talk time and a strong start for newcomers. Three live sessions, three classroom cycles and a coaching pod tie it to each teacher’s own class.
A strategy becomes part of a classroom when a teacher has used it often enough to stop thinking about it, and that takes more than a week of training.
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