The Education Associate: The Bilingual Child Program is a two-year program that prepares Bilingual Education Associates to meet the critical need for professionally trained teaching support personnel to work in schools comprised largely of Spanish-speaking children. The program is administered by the Department of Humanities and awards the Associate in Arts (AA) degree. Students are encouraged to transfer to a senior college after graduation. Students admitted to the program must demonstrate written and oral proficiency in Spanish equivalent to HUS105, Spanish for Fluent Speakers 1.
Selected courses in major subject areas: Social science, psychology and mathematics are offered bilingually, in English and Spanish, with a focus on Hispanic culture. In addition, the program provides field-based instruction in bilingual curriculum development and teaching methodology.
Students who are not currently working as paraprofessionals will serve internships in bilingual schools. Working classroom paraprofessionals may use their current employment site to fulfill the internship requirement.
The internships are accompanied by seminars designed to assist students with problems they encounter in their teaching positions. The seminars available to program participants include: Social Science in the Bilingual Program, Realities of Your Career Choice, Bilinguals and the World of Work, and Independent Research.
Students who need additional skill development in reading, writing, mathematics and communication will be required to take basic skills and/or ESL courses. These courses are not listed in the curriculum. The particular courses students must successfully complete are determined by their scores on the college placement test.