Bilingual education in Texas

In an effort to increase the number of bilingual teachers, many states, including Texas, have
created alternative certification programs. This process allows individuals that are fluent in a
second language and possess a bachelors degree, the opportunity to share their knowledge with
children.
Become a Texas Bilingual Teacher
The Web-Centric Alternative Certification Program (WCACP) currently offers teacher certification
in the Bilingual Generalist EC-6 and Bilingual Generalist 4-8 certification areas. These certifications
will allow you to teach bilingual education in grade levels K-8.

In order to be eligible for open bilingual teaching jobs in Texas, individuals must pass either the
TExES Bilingual Generalist EC-6 or Bilingual Generalist 4-8 certification exam. This test is used to
evaluate math, English, science, and history skills to ensure the prospective teacher possesses the
knowledge necessary to properly instruct their students.
Test preparation materials are available in the online curriculum to help guide you through the
Bilingual Generalist EC-6 or Bilingual Generalist 4-8 certification exam. Our Bilingual Specialist is
also available to assist with test preparation for the Bilingual Target Language Proficiency Test
(BTLPT). This exam is a written and oral proficiency test in Spanish.
Apply Today - bilingual education is a critical need area for school districts throughout Texas.
Bilingual Education Career Path
WCACP was designed with convenience and learning in mind. You will work with skilled
instructors, as well as other pupils to hone their craft and learn the skills necessary to become a
successful bilingual educator. The lessons are taught in multiple venues, including virtual
classrooms, group study, and self paced courses. This allows the student to learn the material
quickly and thoroughly. The entire program is completed online, so students can maintain their
busy schedules, while pursuing this worthwhile career choice.

Since these individuals are already bilingual, the educational aspects of the program will focus on
teaching skills and the teaching philosophy necessary for the classroom. The teaching candidate
will learn how to share their knowledge with their pupils. The course also focuses on strategies
that will help prepare pupils for English speaking classes. Individuals that participate in the
program will learn how to develop lesson plans, maintain an orderly classroom, and effectively
disseminate information to students. WCACP has developed a well rounded process to help
individuals that want to join the education field succeed in obtaining their goal.

Bilingual Education Shortage
Bilingual education is a vital part of the school system. Unfortunately, it is also one of the sectors
hardest hit by the shortage of teachers. Individuals, who possess strong skills in a second language,
should consider sharing their talents with students that can benefit from their knowledge.
Becoming a teacher is an opportunity to shape the lives of our youth.

Children that struggle with English have more challenges to overcome than the average student.
These students possess the same hopes, aspirations, and desires as their classmates.
Unfortunately, the shortage of bilingual education teachers will result in some of these children
never attaining all they could out of life. Enrolling in WCACP is a rewarding way to help out those
that need it most, while transitioning to a meaningful career.

WCACP is dedicated to providing the instruction needed to change childrens lives. The online
alternative certification program is a convenient way to achieve more than just a great career. This
unique opportunity will provide you with a chance to make a real difference in our world. How
many of us can say that we have the ability to mold young minds and forge a path to greatness?
Now you can by becoming a bilingual education teacher.

Districts seek bilingual ed teachers in Mexico
Of great import: bilingual teachers
Texas schools increasingly recruit in Mexico, other nations to meet language demands

Photo By Cynthia Garza/CHRONICLE
Professionals from Mexico pack an Aldine ISD recruiter's table at a Monterrey job fair.
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MONTERREY, MEXICO At the onset, there's a mad rush to be the first in line to talk to the school
recruiters. Within seconds, the candidates, looking more like bankers in their suits than
elementary educators, anxiously await their turn.
Tables with pencils and stress balls from school districts across Texas flank the walls of the hotel
ballroom in Monterrey, and maps show where the districts are located.
Location doesn't matter much to the 225 lawyers, doctors, engineers, architects and teachers who
have been preparing online and in classrooms throughout Mexico to become bilingual teachers in
Texas. Most say they'll work for whichever district north of the Rio Grande hires them.
With the number of Texas students requiring bilingual education at an all-time high, school
districts in the state are increasingly attending job fairs like this one in Monterrey to recruit from
Mexico and other Spanish-speaking countries.
Liliana Gonzalez is confident as she works the room. She's fluent in English, having studied in the
United States and Canada, and she has passed the required Texas certification exam, perhaps the
hurdle consuming most of these candidates.
During her minute-long chat with each recruiter, Gonzalez talks about how her marketing degree
and experience working for the automotive industry in her hometown of Saltillo will translate to a
Texas classroom. The Bastrop, Giddings and Conroe school districts invite her to a full interview
the next day.
"I'm taking advantage of the fact that I'm bilingual and the opportunity in the United States is to
grow in your quality of life but also contribute to the quality of life of the Hispanics that are there,"
says Gonzalez, who accepts an offer to teach in Conroe next fall.
She's just one of 162 applicants hired by the 20-plus Texas school districts and charter schools at
the fair.
The scene in Monterrey is a far cry from what Texas public school recruiters face at state job fairs.
Despite offers of stipends, signing bonuses and tuition reimbursement to recruits from the U.S.,
districts struggle to fill bilingual teacher vacancies largely because of too few qualified applicants,
they say.
During the 2005-06 school year, 711,237 students in Texas were classified as having limited
English-speaking skills.
"We are finding ourselves having to go beyond our walls and come internationally," said Brenda
Lozano, theCypress-Fairbanks school district's assistant director of professional staffing. She hired
10 bilingual teachers at the Monterrey job fair this month.
Lozano said her district only recruits internationally from this program, run by the Region IV
Education Service Center, which serves 54 school districts in the greater Houston area. Lozano said
86 percent of the 43 teachers hired in recent years are still there.
"It's hard when I go to El Paso or down to the Valley because (certified bilingual teachers) want to
stay there," said Henry Espinosa, a recruiter for the Galena Park school district. "When we can go
to Monterrey, our chances for hiring have increased because they're wanting to come here."
Once hired, the candidates apply for a temporary work visa for professionals. Many later apply for
residency, a process that can take years. Some districts, including Alief, entice recruits by offering
to sponsor their residency application.
The transition can be tough as they must assimilate to a new country and education system
quickly, Espinosa said. Moving expenses are high, and then there's the $4,600 the candidates pay
for their alternative certification training and visa preparation.
But recruiting internationally gives districts another option for hiring bilingual teachers and
helps get the best teachers, recruiters said.
"We all know that in the United States the Hispanic population is increasing, so the critical
shortage for bilingual teachers will be there," said Arnold Zuazua, head of bilingual teacher
recruitment for the Houston Independent School District which has recruited 47 teachers from
the Mexico program in the past decade.
'Very high pay increase'
It was a year ago that 27-year-old Carlos Antonio Sanchez first heard a radio ad in Puebla, Mexico,
announcing that Texas public schools were looking for professionals willing to become bilingual
teachers.
Sanchez, an architect with a wife and a toddler, had never considered moving to the United States,
but he liked the idea of helping children from his country by teaching them in U.S. schools, he said.
Money was also a factor.
It's "a very high pay increase, because as you know, here in Mexico economic conditions are hard,"
said Sanchez, who landed a job with Spring Branch.
The Mexico recruiting initiative started in 1992 as a small program with a handful of candidates in
Guadalajara, but over the last decade interest has spread throughout Mexico and Texas,
simultaneously. Preparation classes are available in at least 15 cities in Mexico, including
Monterrey, Guadalajara, Mexico City, Puebla, Tampico, Morelia, Tijuana and Veracruz. There are
plans to expand next year.
Ads for the program appear throughout Mexico in newspapers and are broadcast on television
and radio.
The certification requirements are the same as for anyone who goes through a U.S.-based teacher
certification program.
Cecilia Cerdan, the 2006 national Bilingual Teacher of the Year who was hired by Alief through the
Region IV program in 1998, said having a common culture and connection with the students
they're teaching can have a major impact on student performance.
"As a bilingual teacher you welcome them to the new language and to the new country because
you share the same culture, the same language and you need to address first their physical and
emotional needs in order for them to be prepared for the academics," said Cerdan, who is a
reading interventionist at Youens Elementary in Alief.
What the law says
State law mandates that Texas public schools with 20 or more non-English-speaking students at
the same grade level across the district must offer bilingual education.
There are 16,322 certified bilingual educators in the state, but Texas Education Agency officials
have no data to show how many teachers in bilingual classrooms lack certification.
Some districts, including Cypress-Fairbanks and Alief, only recruit internationally through Mexico's
program, while others cast a wider net.
The Houston ISD has recruited about 330 teachers during the last nine years from Spain, Mexico,
Puerto Rico, China and the Philippines, among others, to fill vacancies in the bilingual program and
in other areas where there are critical shortages, such as science, math and special education.
Bilingual teachers hired by HISD get a $3,000 stipend, and in the past, certified bilingual hires
received $6,000 sign-on bonuses.
Houston ISD has recruited 47 teachers from Region IV's Mexico program during the past six years
but did not attend this year's fair. Thirty-three are still with the district.
HISD's payroll has 2,110 bilingual certified teachers.
Recruiting abroad has its own challenges. In the mid-1990s, HISD's alternative certification
program for bilingual teachers came under fire when a report found that several teachers
recruited from Mexico had fraudulent transcripts, with some speaking little or no English.
That program has since undergone a leadership and policy overhaul. Prospective teachers are
interviewed "strictly in English," Zuazua said.
"We want to hear what their English skills are like," Zuazua said. "If their proficiency is not there,
our principals are not going to hire them."



Bilingual professionals needed to fill
teacher jobs in Fort Worth
APR 26
Posted by Rebecca Aguilar

Photo Courtesy: Geralt
Fort Worth, Texas is in desperate need of bilingual teachers. The city has a huge Spanish-
speaking community . Heres a note I got from Carmen Orozoco via LinkedIn.com. My hope
is that some of you reporters will do a story on this need. Its a great people story.
For those of you who are not journalists, just spread the word to your friends who are bilingual
professionals and may want to become teachers.
Hi Rebecca,
The number one factor that determines whether or not a student will succeed is the person
standing at the front of the classroom every day. My name is Carmen Orozco and I work with
the Fort Worth Teaching Fellows program (FWTF). FWTF is an initiative of the Fort Worth
Independent School District to bring in top talent from various professional fields and transform
students lives through teaching.
There is a shortage of bilingual teachers in FWISD, so we need your help. It appears from your
profile that you are bilingual, and I was impressed with your background and record of
achievement. As a high-quality professional, you may have contacts in your network that might
be interested in having a conversation with us in learning more about becoming a bilingual
teacher. Many strong applications come directly from referrals colleagues, family, and friends
spreading the word about Fort Worth Teaching Fellows. Who in your professional network
might be interested in becoming an elementary bilingual teacher?
Our next application deadline is April 29, although were planning to extend for bilingual
candidates. Could you take a few minutes to support Fort Worth Teaching Fellows and help us
deliver on the promise of a quality education for all children? Please reply with any names of
people we should contact or let me know if youd rather hop on the phone to chat. Or perhaps,
you might be interested.
Let me know at your earliest convenience.
Warm Regards,
Carmen Orozco
Recruitment Ambassador