Immersion teachers yet to be found (Daily News)
The Burlingame School District's search for teachers for its Spanish immersion program planned for next year has so far yielded "nada," officials say. The district approved Spanish immersion over a Mandarin Chinese immersion program in January and has spent the past couple of months searching for two instructors to teach the program to kindergartners and first-graders. The search has included posting ads on the Internet and a trip to Long Beach earlier this month for the California Association for Bilingual Education, or CABE, annual conference, which included a job fair. Now the district is expanding its search to colleges that offer bilingual education programs. The district also plans to post an ad for the position on its Web site and contact the National Association for Bilingual Education.
Superintendent Sonny Da Marto said the high cost of housing in the area makes it a challenge to fill all positions, including those of the immersion teachers. "I knew it was going to be difficult," he said. "There is not a lot we can do." Da Marto said at a recent school board meeting that the district has to find someone for the job by May 15 in order to have time to put the program together. If someone is not hired by that date, the district will need to talk to the parents who have enrolled their students for the program and go from there, he said. The program will not work if it is not started at the beginning of the year, he added.
The candidate for an immersion teaching position must be literate in both languages and be familiar with the cultures of Spanish-speaking countries, Da Marto said. One parent who wants to enroll her daughter in the kindergarten program within the next few years said she is concerned but optimistic. "I do worry, but I have been trying to put the word out because I know a few bilingual school teachers," parent Linda Hall said. "I would be sad (if the program can't start) because of all these people who have signed up." Hill, who has a 3-year-old daughter she wants to enroll in the program in 2008, said friends of hers who are teachers have told her that educators do not start looking for jobs until April. "I think they will find a teacher - the concern is whether they will find two," Hall said. CABE officials said that although there are 197 language immersion programs in the state, finding teachers is usually not hard. "As far as finding teachers, what we find ... is once bilingual teachers know about these programs, it is not a really hard thing to recruit these teachers," said Marcia Vargas, director of CABE's Two Way, which specializes in immersion programs.
The Burlingame School District's search for teachers for its Spanish immersion program planned for next year has so far yielded "nada," officials say. The district approved Spanish immersion over a Mandarin Chinese immersion program in January and has spent the past couple of months searching for two instructors to teach the program to kindergartners and first-graders. The search has included posting ads on the Internet and a trip to Long Beach earlier this month for the California Association for Bilingual Education, or CABE, annual conference, which included a job fair. Now the district is expanding its search to colleges that offer bilingual education programs. The district also plans to post an ad for the position on its Web site and contact the National Association for Bilingual Education.
Superintendent Sonny Da Marto said the high cost of housing in the area makes it a challenge to fill all positions, including those of the immersion teachers. "I knew it was going to be difficult," he said. "There is not a lot we can do." Da Marto said at a recent school board meeting that the district has to find someone for the job by May 15 in order to have time to put the program together. If someone is not hired by that date, the district will need to talk to the parents who have enrolled their students for the program and go from there, he said. The program will not work if it is not started at the beginning of the year, he added.
The candidate for an immersion teaching position must be literate in both languages and be familiar with the cultures of Spanish-speaking countries, Da Marto said. One parent who wants to enroll her daughter in the kindergarten program within the next few years said she is concerned but optimistic. "I do worry, but I have been trying to put the word out because I know a few bilingual school teachers," parent Linda Hall said. "I would be sad (if the program can't start) because of all these people who have signed up." Hill, who has a 3-year-old daughter she wants to enroll in the program in 2008, said friends of hers who are teachers have told her that educators do not start looking for jobs until April. "I think they will find a teacher - the concern is whether they will find two," Hall said. CABE officials said that although there are 197 language immersion programs in the state, finding teachers is usually not hard. "As far as finding teachers, what we find ... is once bilingual teachers know about these programs, it is not a really hard thing to recruit these teachers," said Marcia Vargas, director of CABE's Two Way, which specializes in immersion programs.
- Written by Fiona
Thanks for posting Fiona. This is such a GREAT opportunity for our kids. Knowing two languages is increasingly important nowadays. In fact, it helps with English grammar skills and even math. The only way to learn another language well is to immerse in it and best when young (under age 10). We are very fortunate to have such a wonderful visionary school district that made this program available to us. I cannot wait to see it start! :)
Posted by: Linda Hall | April 04, 2007 at 12:04 AM
Might I recommend that someone involved in this recruiting process contact the career services people at Brigham Young University. This school has a very large and well respected early childhood education department, students with exceptional values and many of the students are Spanish speaking or have served 2 year church missions in Spanish speaking countries. They can be reached at:
Education Placement Manager/Advisor
Lisa Christensen
(801) 422-6935
[email protected]
Posted by: David Sanderson | April 10, 2007 at 04:12 PM