Survival Spanish for School Administrators
"Eighty Fort Worth school district professionals [are] taking a free
course being offered through a $20,000 grant from the Texas Christian
University Strategic Initiatives Fund. When district officials announced
the free classes, the response was overwhelming; 400 people applied for
the available slots in 'Survival Spanish for School Administrators.'
'The
classes filled up in an hour,' said Charles Hoffman, the district's
executive director for student and social services. 'People see the need
to be able to communicate with Spanish speakers in the district.'
Hoffman
said the classes will help district employees establish better rapport
with the Spanish-speaking community ... About 43,000 Hispanic children
make up 54 percent of the district's student population and half of them
speak Spanish at home, district officials said.
A desire to communicate
with newly arrived Spanish-speaking immigrant students and their parents
is why many educators joined the class. 'We have a lot of parents who
primarily speak Spanish,' said Cheryl Chappell, a teaching assistant
from
Monnig Middle School. 'We always have to have an interpreter.' The
12-hour
program is geared specifically for the K-through-12 learning
environment.
Classes are being held on the TCU campus and at the district's
Professional Development Center. More classes will be held later this
year."
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/13669935.htm
Posted 1/30/06