The City of Buffalo will receive a quarter of a million dollars to establish a bilingual educator pipeline program to help cater to the city’s diverse student population.
State assemblymember Jonathan Rivera announced Monday that the grant will help enhance a certification program at SUNY Buffalo State University by supporting tuition assistance, certification costs, technology, recruitment and staff salaries.
"This initiative recognizes a simple reality: New York's classrooms are becoming increasingly diverse, and our educator workforce must reflect and support that community," he said.
Supporters of the program are hopeful it will certify more bilingual educators who will then stay in Western New York, where their services are especially needed. More than 20% of students are multilingual learners, and Rivera said schools across the region continue to face a critical shortage of bilingual educators.
The program will help certify paraprofessionals who can assist students at schools like Lafayette International High School, where 45 countries and 30 spoken languages are represented.
“We have so many graduates here that graduate being bilingual, multilingual, many students speaking many other languages,” said John Starkey, principal of Lafayette International. “This funding can help directly support some of our teachers' aides that may be interested in pursuing a career as a bilingual teacher, and also with our graduating students when they go to our local universities here in Western New York."
Buffalo Teachers Federation president Rich Nigro said the program will help with the professional development of educators, which will provide better learning outcomes for students.
“I think this is a fantastic opportunity. It's great for our members, and it's spectacular for our kids, too," Nigro said.
The program requires a bachelor’s and master’s degree and will take about four to six years to complete.
