Bilingual Program Has Much Potential

Some of us are good at goal-setting. Some of us aren’t. Even those who aren’t can recognize the value of setting a course toward desired achievements and how doing so helps to organize the steps necessary to reach the desired milestone.

Yes, we’re sounding a little like one of those hotel meeting room seminars. The fact remains that challenges are not effectively addressed on a seatof-the-pants basis. Developing and implementing a plan, especially when a solution involves many parties, is a necessary component to success.

The folks behind the Northwest Arkansas Bilingual Teacher Scholarship program understand this well.

The fi ve-year program

is a joint effort of the

Hispanic Scholarship

fund, the Springdale

School District, the

University of Arkansas

and NorthWest Arkansas

Community College. Its

goal is to develop a pool

of future teachers whocan bridge language and cultural barriers in a school district with a student body that is 43 percent Hispanic.

It has proven diftcult to recruit bilingual teachers to the area, so this program is designed to produce nearly 90 of them within the next fi ve years. By providing scholarships and other encouragement for Hispanic students, organizers believe those students can attain a higher education degree and return to Springdale to become part of the solution.

Preference is given to students from Springdale High and Har-Ber High schools who are the fi rst from their families to attend college.

Students must attend either the University of Arkansas or NorthWest Arkansas Community College to be eligible for the scholarship. University students would receive $2,500 per semester and community college students would receive $1,250 per semester. They must maintain a minimum of a 3.0 grade-point average to remain eligible for the scholarship each semester. Students also must be U.S. citizens, legal permanent residents or eligible non-U.S. citizens.

With around 8,400 Hispanic students in Springdale schools today, there is a ready-made and fertile audience for this opportunity. Leaders at the colleges said it takes extra effort to convince many Hispanic students to become the first generation in their families strive for a college degree. Being fi rst is often challenging and requires dedication. This program stands ready to meet such students and help them navigate the unfamiliar waters of going to college, including the cost barriers.

“I think that’s really important for young Latinos to see others who went to college and that there’s a path for education and professional development,” said Luis Restrepo, associate vice provost for diversity and professor of Spanish at the University of Arkansas.

If this program succeeds - and we see little evidence to suggest such a concerted eff ort would not - it will pay dividends far beyond what could be realized by drawing bilingual teachers from elsewhere. These students are already invested in the community and the school system. The program could be a life-changing opportunity for them, and a positive long-term impact for the schools and their students of tomorrow.

The Walton Family Foundation deserves kudos for providing a $775,000 grant to help get the program off the ground. Yet again, this family has taken a giant step to use their considerable resources to improve Northwest Arkansas.

This program shows real promise in creating a work force that will help many generations to come.

That’s the kind of philanthropic investment that will keep giving year after year after year.