THOUSAND OAKS : Scholarships Target Bilingual Education
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California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks will award 45 scholarships over the next three years to students pursuing teaching credentials in bilingual education, officials said recently.
The scholarships, part of a $423,000 federal grant, will be awarded to students in an effort to alleviate a shortage of bilingual teachers in Ventura County’s elementary and secondary schools, university spokeswoman Kathleen Contreras said.
Nearly 20% of the county’s students speak languages other than English, Contreras said, and about 92% of those students speak only Spanish.
There are 211 bilingual teachers in the county serving about 16,000 bilingual students, state Department of Education officials said.
An additional 175 student teachers are being trained in bilingual education.
To qualify for the scholarships, students must have a bachelor’s degree and be proficient in a foreign language, officials said.
In 1983 the university was awarded $370,000 and in 1986 it was awarded $313,000 to prepare bilingual teachers.
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