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WELCOMING INTERNATIONAL EDUCATORS:
VISITING TEACHERS FROM SPAIN
Illinois Bilingual Program Directors’ Meeting Lisle, IL
September 2013
Jorge Berné, Education Advisor Education Office - Embassy of Spain
Illinois State Board of Education [email protected]
• MOU State of Illinois – Government of Spain: Teacher Exchange Program
• Fall/Spring: Teachers from Spain apply for the program
• Applicants are screened: a pool of suitable candidates is created, they
are tested for English Language Proficiency.
• Selected teachers from Spain come and teach in Illinois for three years
on a J-1 visa sponsored by ISBE
• All teachers meet the certification and language proficiency
requirements established by ISBE
• All teachers receive an International Visiting Teacher Certificate valid for
the three years of the duration of the program
The Program
School Districts
Arcola 306 Aurora East 131 Carbondale 95 Chicago Public
Schools 299
Cicero 99 DeKalb 428 East Maine 63 Elgin U-46
Evanston-Skokie 65 Harvard 50 J.S. Morton 201 Mendota 289
Naperville 203 Oswego 308 Posen-Robbins 143.5 Rockford 205
Schaumburg 54 Urbana 116 Waukegan Woodstock 200
Program - Districts (cont.)
• 33 States and 1 Province in Canada
• 13 School Districts in Illinois
• 45 Visiting Teachers
• WI: 2 School Districts, 11 teachers
• MN: 2 School Districts, 4 teachers
School Year 2013-14
Program (cont.)
School Year
2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13
2013/14
#VT 41 23 34 33 45
Program - # Visiting Teachers (cont.)
School Year Early
Childhood Elementary Middle High School
Special Ed/ Speech and Language/
Spanish
2013-14 7 16 5 7 10
Program - Visiting Teachers per Grades (cont.)
• US State Department: Exchange Visitor Program
• ISBE
i. Program Sponsor for Illinois
ii. Screening of candidates
iii. Certification
iv. Teachers’ orientation and support
v. Program monitoring
• Spanish Ministry of Education
i. Program coordination
ii. Application and candidate screening
iii. Recruitment process management
iv. Job fair in Madrid
Who is who?
• School District
i. Employer
ii. New community to the teachers
iii. Teachers’ orientations and support
• Teachers
i. Certified Teachers in Spain (preK-12; Middle and High: content areas; Special Education; Speech Language; World Language)
ii. Proficient in English; a lot of them have a background in bilingual education in Spain
iii. A minimum of three years of experience
iv. Motivated and committed
Who is who? (cont.)
• Bring up this option to your Administrators, Building Principals and
Community: everybody should take and feel ownership
• Explore your program needs, and where these teachers will make the most positive impact
• Illinois districts sign an Intergovernmental Agreement with ISBE
• Express your interest to your DELL Consultant and to Jorge Berné, start the conversation this Fall
How can my district participate?
• Teachers are Highly Qualified and they receive a Type 50 (Special Areas), 53 (Elementary), 54 (Early Childhood) or 59 (High School) teaching certificate from ISBE.
• They all receive a bilingual endorsement in early childhood,
elementary education, middle and high school (Math, Science, Social Studies, ESL), Speech therapy, and Special Education
• They teach in: i. Dual Language Programs ii. Bilingual Education Programs iii. World Language Programs
What is the teachers’ certification?
Calendar
• School Districts express their interest in participating in the
program to ISBE Education Advisor, Jorge Berné.
October 2013 – February 2014
• The Ministry of Education of Spain screens all the applications and selects the pool of candidates who will be tested by ISBE in April.
• January 31, 2014: Information Meeting for Participating Districts at ISBE or through conference call
• Tentative District Teacher Assignment Request Form: mid-February
• Intergovernmental Agreement with ISBE
January to March 2014
Calendar (cont.)
• ISBE tests the candidates’ English proficiency in Madrid. Candidates are tested on reading, vocabulary, writing and speaking skills.
• ISBE creates the pool of candidates who will qualify for a Visiting International Teacher Certificate.
• School districts interview teacher candidates in Madrid and through Skype.
• Tentative interview dates: third week of April 2014
• ISBE sponsors J-1 visas for the selected teachers.
April 2013
• The selected teachers receive orientations in Spain and Illinois.
• ISBE and School Districts in collaboration with the Education Advisor provide initial support and ongoing mentoring to visiting teachers.
• Teachers receive their Highly Qualified Visiting International Teacher Certificates from ISBE, becoming fully certified bilingual education teachers (Type 50, 53, 54 or 59).
Summer 2013
Calendar (cont.)
• Excellent language models
• Different approach and experience on bilingual education
• High expectations
• Add another multicultural level to your program and community
• A different component to the Hispanic population and culture of your district
• Comittees/Conferences/Professional Development
• Cultural Exchange that opens up other opportunities
• Emphasis on the cultural exchange
What is the added value of these teachers?
• Support will make a difference to the success of the program
• First few months: mentoring/follow up
• A three-year program
• How to make the most out of these teachers?
What are some thoughts to keep in mind?
• Teachers need multiple levels of support in each stage
• It is not a one-person job, but the joy of an entire community!
• High success rate
• Experienced and motivated teachers, and families
• Their own experience of multilingualism and multiculturalism
• Adjustment to their new reality, their new teaching context and their new Spanish-speaking environment
Some additional thoughts
• Does the district have to keep the teachers three years?
• Can the teacher leave before the three years?
• Do we treat these teachers any different than the rest of our teachers?
• Can these teachers be General Education teachers?
• Is there a cost to participating in the program?
• Who pays the teachers’ salary?
• Can we keep the teachers after the three years?
• What is the success rate?
Some common questions
• The program: i. may address a need in your district
ii. enhaces bilingual and dual language programs
iii. has a huge impact on the students, the schools and the community at large
iv. adds another level to the multicultural and Hispanic population of your district
v. fosters knowledge and appreciation of cultural differences… and similiarities!
Why?
Number of Bilingual Students in Madrid
2011-2012: Elementary Schools • 70,000 elementary school students (33 % of the total) enrolled in
the bilingual program
2011-2012: Secondary Schools
• 11,500 secondary school students (10 % of total) enrolled in the bilingual program
2011-2012: Elementary and Secondary
• 85,500 elementary and secondary students (25% of the total) 332,015) enrolled in the bilingual program
BILINGUAL PUBLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 2012-2013
# SCHOOLS 298
# STUDENTS 70,000 appr.
BILINGUAL CHARTER ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 2012-2013
# SCHOOLS 120
# STUDENTS 29,000 appr.
BILINGUAL PUBLIC HIGH SHOOLS CURSO 2012-2013
# SCHOOLS 81
# STUDENTS 23,000 appr.
Madrid Regional Office of Education
Jorge Berné
Education Advisor
Spanish Ministry of Education
ISBE, Suite 14-300
100 West Randolph
Chicago, IL 60601
jorge.berne_educacion
Direct line: 312 814 5696
Contact information
