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BILINGUAL EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, TEXAS A&M UNIVERSIT Y
Fall 2001
Bilingual Education Program
First Distance Bilingual Master’s Program in Nation
Inside this issue: With substantial federal sonville, Temple, that lead to degrees and
grant support and in col- Waco, and Waller) and certification in bilingual/
Bilingual Teacher 2 laboration with eleven Blinn Community Col- ESL education.
Shortage school districts (Aldine, lege, the Bilingual Edu-
Belton, Bryan, College Sta- cation Program at The department started in-
Governor Perry and 2 tion, Cypress—Fairbanks, TAMU is providing novative technology initia-
Senate Support
Galveston, Houston, Jack- multiple entry points tive that provides course-
work via interactive televi-
Hispanic Dropout Rate 3
sion (known as TTVN) with
web-based components. It
is believed that this is the
Parent Involvement 4
first Masters degree pro-
gram in bilingual educa -
Call for Papers 5 tion that is offered fully
by distance education in
the nation.
NEW Undergraduate 5
Program This program has served
over 200 students to date
From the Director 6 demonstrating that this
type of delivery has been
well-received and desper-
ately needed in urban,
According to a Latin Ameri- Fortunately, with the lead-
From the Dean… can proverb, “Un solo leño ership of Professor Rafael
suburban, and rural areas
that were previously un-
nunca arde” [one single piece Lara-Alecio we have more
derserved in Texas.
of firewood never burns]. than dreams. Professor
Alone we accomplish little for Lara-Alecio and his team
the children, youth, and the of wonderful educators are
las familias de Tejas. In part- reaching out across Texas
nership, however, with par- creating exciting partner-
ents and teachers, school ships with teachers and Dean cont…
leaders, and communities, families. Our collabora-
the Education Faculty at tion with educational pro- Thank you for your connec-
Texas A&M have ambitious fessionals in 15 communi- tions with Texas A&M. We
dreams. ties across Texas will re- look forward to a close asso-
Jane Close Conoley, Ph.D. sult in many more teachers ciation with nuestros compa-
Dean and Professor We dream of collaborating to who are prepared to sup- dres and a chance to build a
College of Education, TAMU enrich the educational, social, port the success of all chil- fire of excellence fueled with
and economic futures of toda dren and many more fami- the commitment and talents
la gente de Tejas. lies. of many.
Page 2 Bilingual Education Program
Since 1981, EPSY has had a signifi- our department to develop and
cant focus on the development of administer quality educational
teachers, professional psycholo- preparation programs. With his
gists and researchers to improve colleagues, Dr. Lara prepares
educational and mental health ser- leaders in schools and university
vices for Hispanic children and settings to design and implement
families. effective instructional programs
for English language learners.
These programs have received
Upon joining EPSY in 2000, Dr. significant state and national rec-
Rafael Lara-Alecio has signif i- ognition. We are excited about
Douglas Palmer, Ph. D.
cantly enhanced the capacity of their continued development and
Department Head
expansion.
Department of Educational Psychology
Governor and Senate Support Bilingual Ed.
Texas Governor Rick Perry signed and native English speakers learn
“Resolved that the State of Texas
Senate Resolution No. 50 in July their new languages alongside
2001. This resolution confirms sup- one another. work toward the worthy goal of
port for bilingual education in
Texas. The resolution further encourages ensuring that someday every Texas
“school districts to develop and
The resolution offers specific sup- implement dual language bilin- student will master English plus
port for dual immersion programs gual programs in which students
another language.”
which are seen as a more inclusive may participate throughout their
model of bilingual education. In education.” This resolution affirms
dual immersion classrooms in a bright future for bilingual educa-
Texas, native Spanish speakers tion in Texas.
Bilingual Teachers in
High Demand In addition, approximately 48% of universities, public schools and
the teachers employed as Bilin- community colleges.
A recent study confirms that bilin- gual/ESL teachers are considered
gual teachers are in high demand less-than-fully certified. Other
in Texas. The Teacher Demand high demand areas are Math, Sci-
Study (available at the Institute for ence, and Foreign Language.
School-University Partnerships
website http://partnerships.tamu. The Texas A&M system is commit-
edu) found that elementary bilin- ted to increasing the number of
gual/ ESL (English as a Second qualified and well-prepared
Language) positions were the teachers in these high need areas.
most difficult to fill in Texas with This effort is part of the Regent’s
over 3,500 teachers needed in the Initiative for Excellence in Educa-
2000-2001 school year. Over 20% tion that is focused on reinforcing Stephanie Mosqueda, Bryan ISD Bilingual
of these positions went unfilled. critical ties between system Teacher and Texas A&M Masters Student.
Page 3
Language Diversity Network Website Launched http://ldn.tamu.edu
The Language numerous professional bilingual/
Diversity Network is a new na- ESL educators throughout the
tional website hosting information country.
for professional and pre-service
educators seeking resources, The site includes detailed informa-
scholarships, research and class- tion about the Bilingual Education
room project information in Bilin- Program at TAMU for undergradu-
gual/ESL Education. ates, masters and doctoral stu-
dents. This web project is partially
Numerous links and resources are funded by Project AAD
conveniently located within this (Awareness, Advocacy, and De-
comprehensive site. You can also velopment CFDA Number:
register to the discussion board 84.195B.OBEMLA).
linking you directly to
Hispanic Dropout Rate Alarming
The latest figures estimate that lation are taken into consideration,
30% of Hispanic young adults are particularly in states with high
dropouts, compared to 8.6 for percentages of Hispanics such as
30% of Hispanic young adults drop
non-Hispanic Whites, and 12.1% Texas.
for non- Hispanic Blacks. (US Gov- Some of the known factors contrib- out of school. Spanish–speaking
ernment Accounting Office Re- uting to the decision to drop out students in bilingual programs were
port, 1997.) are socioeconomic status, time in
less likely to drop out (Krashen,
These statistics are even more the US, absence of a print-rich en-
alarming when the demographic vironment, English language abil- 1998).
projections of the Hispanic popu- ity, and other family issues.
Census 2000
The 2000 US Census shows a dramatic
increase in the Hispanic population
which rose 61% in the last decade.
Texas figures also show significant
Hispanic population gains, increasing
from 25% to 32% with the greatest
growth in the state’s metro areas.
Page 4 Bilingual Education Program
Parental Involvement Projects
Over 100 Hispanic parents are the better the children’s academic
served weekly in Bryan ISD and achievement, self-confidence, and
Aldine ISD in an innovative Pa- attitudes toward school.”
rental Involvement Model which
is coordinated by the Bilingual In the model, parents are empow-
Program. This Parental Program ered by advancing their linguistic,
focus on ESL (English-as-a- academic and technology skills.
second language), GED in Span- Further, parents are encouraged
ish, Introduction to Technology to promote high academic
and Parenting Skills. achievement in their children
through home- based supportive
Parental Involvement is critical to behaviors.
student success in schools.
Lara-Alecio, Irby and Ebener For further information on the pa-
Over 100 parents take classes in ESL, GED in
(1997) report “the more parents rental model, contact Martha
Spanish, Technology and Parenting in Aldine
are actively involved in their Galloway at bilingual@tamu.edu.
and Bryan ISD.
children’s educational activities,
Hispanics Need Technology Skills
There are vast inequities in the ac-
cess to technology for Hispanic In Texas, Hispanics are the least
families both at home and at school.
likely group to have computers and
In fact, Hispanics rank last in access
to computers and online services. online access.
All families need opportunities be-
yond functional literacy, therefore
TAMU along with partner school
districts have developed models to Texas will profit from a highly
increase technological literacy that skilled and bilingual technical
is needed for the new millennium. workforce.
State-of-the-Art Bilingual Education Research
The Bilingual Education faculty and National Field Study Based on 18,820 observations of
graduate students produce state-of- 102 bilingual classrooms, the
the-art bilingual education research Dr. Lara-Alecio (TAMU) and Dr. Irby report provides: (1) a model for
that is widely published in top na- (Sam Houston State University) re- assessing pedagogical accom-
tional and international journals. cently conducted (along with Aldine modations in bilingual education
ISD) a Field Initiated Research Study, classrooms, (2) correlates for
Some of our current areas of research entitled “A Study Addressing Three language of instruction with per-
interest are: dual language methods, Components of the National Bilingual formance on high-stakes testing,
ethnoscience, ethnomathematics, as- Research Agenda for English Lan- and (3) benchmarks of language
sessment, technology, biliteracy, pa- guage Learners on High Stakes As- of instruction in a continuum of
rental involvement, Hispanic gifted, sessment” for the Department of Edu- developing proficiency from
and Hispanic dropout prevention. cation, Office of Bilingual Education pre-kindergarten to grade four.
and Language Minority Affairs, Wash-
ington, D. C.
Page 5 Bilingual Education Program
Undergraduate Bilingual Education Program in Development
Texas A&M University is currently ucation.” says Dr. Lara-Alecio.
developing a new undergraduate Through state- of-the-art theories,
Bilingual Education teaching de- content, and methodologies the
gree pending approval of TAMU program is designed to prepare
and state certification. In the past teachers to work with culturally
undergraduates would satisfy the and linguistically diverse children
state certification requirements by and their families. Due to the high
taking additional hours beyond demand for bilingual certified
their undergraduate teaching pro- teachers in Texas and other states
gram. the undergraduate program is an-
ticipating an increasing number
“We are extremely pleased to of- Katherine Baine and Nora Sada, undergraduate of students.
fer this comprehensive program bilingual teaching majors, look forward to
to help with the state’s critical graduation. For further information please
teacher shortage in bilingual edu- call: 979-845-2599.
Project BEST assists with Teacher Shortage
Project BEST (a federally funded selves. Ms. Amy Jones, Child Devel-
program) is providing another en- opment Program Coordinator at
try-point for undergraduate bilin- Blinn College, Bryan Campus re-
gual teaching majors at TAMU. cruits and mentors the students at
Currently TAMU’s Bilingual Pro- Blinn. The program provides tuition,
gram is sponsoring 15 students per books and fees for 18 credit hours in
year at Blinn Community College. early childhood courses. For further
Project BEST participants take info contact:
coursework in Early Childhood
Education at Blinn and later transfer Martha Galloway, TAMU 979-845-5625
to TAMU to complete their teaching and via email bilingual@tamu.edu
or
degrees. These students are
Ms. Amy Jones, Blinn College 979- Dr. Rafael Lara congratulates new Project
uniquely committed to working 821-0374 . BEST participants at Blinn College.
with language minority children as
most are language minorities them-
selves.
Call for papers for NEW National Bilingual Journal
The National Asso- theoretical and applied research ference of the National Association
ciation of Bilingual studies in bilingual education. for Bilingual Education (NABE).
Education will be- Call for submissions October
gin publishing a The mission of the NABE Annual 2001.
new journal called “The NABE An- Research & Practice Journal will
nual Journal of Research and Prac- be to disseminate widely the state- Texas A&M's Bilingual Program and
tice.” This new journal (sponsored of-the-art work presented by re- College of Education are proud to
by the Research and Evaluation searchers and practitioners at host the online version of this new
SIG) will provide an outlet for every International/National Con- journal at http://ldn.tamu.edu.
The College of Education at Texas A&M
BILINGUAL EDUCATION
Department of Educational Psychology University, College Station, Texas is commit-
College of Education, Texas A&M University ted to serving the state of Texas and the na-
402 Harrington Tower
College Station, TX 77843-4225 tion through effective research, teaching,
and service that focus on the needs of lan-
Phone: 979– 845-2599
Fax: 979-458-0192 guage minority students and their families.
Email: bilingual@tamu.edu
Program Director: Rafael Lara–Alecio, Ph. D.
Newsletter Editor: Martha Galloway
We’re on the Web
http://ldn.tamu.edu
A Word from the Program Director
We would like to welcome all the working to determine strategies
members of our new cohort to the that best serve these learners, plac-
bilingual education family at ing emphasis on reflection and re-
Texas A&M. Officially, this is our search. This semester we con-
first fall semester newsletter which ducted 16 action research projects
is dedicated to the leadership of that have been centered on bilin-
Martha Galloway, one of our bilin- gual classrooms. These research
gual doctoral fellows and a key papers will appear on the Language
instructor in the program. It is Diversity Network (http://ldn.tamu.
amazing how our program has edu) so that bilingual teachers
grown in multiple ways. The throughout the US and abroad can
growth has been seen in grants apply the information learned.
funded, in increased distance edu-
Dr. Lara-Alecio, Associate Professor cation, in research agendas, in pa- We are living in a world in which
and Program Director. rental involvement programs, and e v e r y t h i n g i s a v a i l a b l e—
in the students in the program. technology, information, and re-
sources. However, the challenge is
As you know the second language to reflect on our own instruction and
learner community is growing determine what is effective, and,
daily in geometric proportion to then, to share those findings. We
the mainstream population and is invite teachers to reflect on their
in immediate need of effective practice and share their reflections;
educational strategies to ensure therefore, if any teachers have e x-
that these learners can acquire all periences they would like to share,
the linguistic, academic, and cul- please submit them to
Aldine ISD teachers, Laurie Hutto, Patricia tural background to be effective bilingual@tamu.edu for considera-
Rodriguez and Juan Carlos Vargas are in citizens in the mainstream society. tion of publication on the
Masters Cohort I. Therefore, our program is Language Diversity Network.
