Spanish Teacher Exchange Program
Overview
For over 10 years, the Illinois State Board of Education has
maintained a "Memorandum of Understanding" with the
Spanish Ministry of Education. Purpose
The purpose of this relationship is to enhance understanding
between the people pf the United States and the people of
other countries through educational and cultural exchanges.
It also increases and improves the skill level of teachers
of Spanish within the State of Illinois. A number of creative
programs have been established to achieve these program goals.
Illinois/Spanish Visiting Teacher's Program
In this program, highly qualified teachers from Spain come
to Illinois to teach Bilingual Education classes. Because
of the high quality of their preparation these teachers also
add a strong bicultural dimension to their service here.
As of June 2007, local school districts have contracted with
212 teachers from Spain. For the 2007-2008 school year, 59
new teachers from Spain will begin serving in Illinois schools.
The districts involved in this year’s program are:
Aurora East SD 31, Carpentersville SD 300, Chicago SD 299,
Cicero SD 99, Elgin SD U46, Kankakee SD 111, Mannheim SD 83,
North Shore SD 112, Peoria SD 150, Rockford SD 205, Schaumburg
SD 54, Waukegan CUSD 60, Wheeling CCSD 21, and Woodstock CUSD
200.
The Spanish Ministry of Education and local school districts
cooperatively select the teachers for the program. The State
Board of Education facilitates the dissemination of information
and visa requirements. Staff from the State Board also provide
governmental and programmatic oversight for this program.
Summer Institutes
The Spanish Ministry of Education and several Spanish universities
partially sponsor scholarships to U.S. teachers of Spanish
to attend language and culture or children's literature courses
for three weeks in Spain. The courses take place in July and
provide 3 university credits to the attendants.
International Spanish Academies
A truly international effort among American, Spanish and
Canadian educational leaders, International Spanish Academies
provide professional development settings for college level
students and above. Students can access highly recognized
institutions of higher learning in the U.S., Canada, Europe,
or Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America.
AP SPANISH LANGUAGE
RUTA QUETZAL
The Quetzal
Route is both a study program and an adventure trip. During
the course of the trip, participants complete a program of
academic activities designed by the Universidad Complutense
in Madrid.
Language Assistants
The Ministry of Education and Science of Spain (MEC), through
an agreement with the Education Authorities in the Autonomous
Regions offer 1000 grants in 2007. Assistants will have the
opportunity to learn about the Spanish language and culture
and use their experience upon their return to the United States
or Canada, thus helping to develop cultural understanding
between the citizens of Spain and the United States of America
and Canada. At the same time, the program provides Spanish
students and teachers of English an opportunity to broaden
and increase their knowledge of the English language and North
American culture through interaction with native speakers.
Contact Information
Spanish Ministry of Education
Roberto Garcia
Education Advisor-Embassy of Spain
100 W. Randolph Street, Suite 14-300
Chicago, IL 60601 USA
Phone: 312 814 9192
Fax: 312 814 8636
e-mail: Roberto.garciag@mec.es
http://www.sgci.mec.es/usa/
Robin M. Lisboa, Division Administrator, English
Language Learning
Illinois State Board of Education
100 W. Randolph, Suite 14-300
Chicago, IL 60601
(312) 814-3850
e-mail: rlisboa@isbe.net
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