Alan Llavore | Office of Marketing and Communications | (909) 537-5007 | allavore@csusb.edu
Cal State San Bernardino’s effort to increase the number of credentialed Spanish bilingual teachers in the Inland Empire has received a big boost from the U.S. Department of Education.
The university’s James R. Watson and Judy Rodriguez Watson College of Education has been awarded a $3.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to expand its Spanish Bilingual Authorization program.
“This grant allows us to make an impact by increasing and diversifying the number of bilingual educators in the region, a very much needed profile due to teacher shortages, as well as offering quality training for pre-service, in-service teachers and administrators with the newly designed Bilingual Authorization classes in Spanish, an upcoming Dual Language Immersion certificate and master’s degree,” said Jordi Solsona-Puig, CSUSB assistant professor of education, bilingual co-coordinator and principal investigator for the grant. The region's teacher workforce is 60% White and 20% Latino, while 65% of K-12 students are Latino or Hispanic.
The five-year grant, awarded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Augustus F. Hawkins Center of Excellence Program, will fund the ExMILE project (Excellence as Multilingual Innovators and Leaders in Education), with a goal to address teacher diversity in the Inland Empire, offer quality multilingual training and creating new mentorship models within the Watson College’s teacher credentialing programs.
The program, which currently offers bilingual credentials for elementary teachers through Watson College of Education’s Spanish Bilingual Authorization option, will now expand to include all teaching credentials. The initiative aims to promote multilingual education and better align the teacher workforce with student demographics in San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
The majority of the funding will go toward full tuition scholarships for up to 30 bilingual teacher candidates each year through 2029. Additionally, dedicated bilingual training will be provided to bilingual resident teachers and additional stipend to candidates. The college will organize events such as the Dual Immersion Symposium at CSUSB, a unique event that has been growing in attendance and repercussion. Professional development workshops will also be offered to educators throughout the Inland Empire.
While the main goal is to increase the diversity of teacher candidates through the Spanish Bilingual Authorization at the Watson College of Education, the ExMILE program also will:
- Increase the number of bilingual credentialed and trained educators in school districts in San Bernardino and Riverside counties by 15% by 2029;
- Increase the numbers of teacher candidates who enroll in the Spanish bilingual credential by 30 per year over the next five years through redesigned clinical practice, coursework, economic support and mentorship programs;
- Create a Dual Language Immersion Certificate and increase the numbers of existing K-12 teachers in the region who obtain a dual immersion certificate by 20 per year after the second year of the project;
- Create a Dual Language Immersion Certificate master’s program and increase the numbers of existing K-12 teachers in the region who obtain a dual immersion preparation by 20 per year after the third year of the project; and
- Design, expand and implement quality bilingual professional development and training through annual targeted events and coursework for pre-service, in-service bilingual teachers and administrators.
The Watson College partnered with Growing Inland Empire, a regional K-16 collaborative working to achieve educational and economic equity in the region, in writing the grant request, with support from the county offices of education in San Bernardino and Riverside counties, as well as seven school districts serving as preferential partners: Adelanto Elementary, Ontario-Montclair, Rialto, Upland, Beaumont, Moreno Valley, Palm Springs and Val Verde school districts.