Waukesha School District awarded $250,000 DWD grant

The Alliance’s 2019 Policy Agenda focuses on many education priorities, including “advocating for effective and flexible programs to address the teacher shortage.” Congratulations to the School District of Waukesha on its Fast Forward grant!

Here is an article from the Waukesha Freeman:

Waukesha School District awarded $250,000 DWD grant

WAUKESHA — The state Department of Workforce Development Fast Forward program has awarded the Waukesha School District a grant for $250,000 to help increase the number of licensed and qualified educators. The funding is available through 2020.

The grant will allow qualified teachers to pursue additional certification, such as multilingual certification, based on student need. It costs approximately $12,000 to become certified in specific areas.

The grant supports a project called “Giving Undercertified Educators Paths to Student Achievement” and involves the school district partnering with the University of Wisconsin– Whitewater and other institutions to ensure that 31 teachers earn certification in the following areas: five in general education; five in special education; 11 as an add-on bilingual endorsement; six in English as a second language licensure; and four reading teacher certifications for bilingual teachers.

The Waukesha School District offers 4K through grade 11 dual language programs in Spanish and English.

“This enhances the linguistic and cultural diversity of our community and prepares more than 100 graduates annually with the state Seal of Biliteracy and Global Education certifications,” said Deirdre Garcia, WSD director of Multilingual/Global Education.

“A well implemented K-12 dual language program offers bilingual students the greatest opportunity for academic excellence with the added benefit of extending to English speaking students the opportunity for bilingualism over a 12-year period,” she said.

“Children in the most elite private schools around the world have access to bilingual immersion programs that create bilingualism, biliteracy and global competency.”