April 10, 2006 (Vol. 3, No. 6)

ITI-BE Program Supports Aspiring Bilingual Educators

Iris Gaspar and Maria Frannilba know what it's like to struggle with a new language. Iris was 16 and Maria was 17 when they moved from the Dominican Republic to New York with their families. It was their experiences in and out of the classroom that inspired them to become bilingual schoolteachers. Now, with the help of the Lehman College Intensive Teacher Institute in Bilingual Education (ITI-BE), each is closer to fulfilling her goal.

The ITI-BE program is a joint effort between Lehman College and the Eastern Suffolk County Board of Cooperative Education Services (B.O.C.E.S). Its aim is to train undergraduate teacher candidates to work with bilingual/ESL students and families. Participants in the program receive tuition benefits for up to two years. Students must commit to teaching in a New York State bilingual education setting for a period of two years.

Professor Rogelio Fernandez (Middle and High School Education), who serves as the program advisor, explains that "the ever-increasing non-English speaking populations in our schools and the paucity of well-trained bilingual/ESL teachers gives this program its significance."

Sixteen students are currently participating in the program, which was launched in fall 2004. Once approved, each receives up to six credits of tuition remission assistance each semester. The students work toward their bachelor's degree and initial teaching certificate with the bilingual extension. This extension qualifies them to teach in bilingual/ESL classrooms.

This spring, four students are expected to earn their degrees and initial teacher certification. Both Iris and Maria plan to begin the program over the summer.

"I'm really excited about being accepted into the program because I know that it will lead to more opportunities for me," says Iris, a sociology major who earned her associate's degree from Bronx Community College.

When Maria, also a sociology major, arrived in the United States she did not speak English. Although she would have been a senior in high school in the Dominican Republic, she was enrolled in the freshman program at Martin Luther King, Jr. High School in Manhattan. She credits the school's bilingual program with helping to make learning a new language a smooth process. Maria went on to LaGuardia Community College, where she earned her associate's degree.

Both students expressed a desire to work with bilingual children to help them develop their skills in a new language while at the same time building their skills in their native language.

To learn more about the ITI-BE program, call Professor Fernandez at (718) 960-8369.

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