PSS eyes experts for bilingual program

The Public School System will upgrade its bilingual program by seeking the help of experts using a federal grant.

According to federal programs officer William Matson, the State Education Agency Bilingual Grant will help PSS in data collection to upgrade its existing activities and in seeking technical help from experts.

The grant application will be sent out next week to tap federal funding amounting to over $100,000 which will be used next school year.

“This is not to provide a great deal of direct services into the classroom rather it is intended to establish state level data collection and technical help,” he said.

This funding will help PSS hire an expert on LEP (Limited English Proficiency) and develop a comprehensive bilingual program designed for a multi-culture students. Not only will it benefit the Chamorros and Carolinians but also Korean, Filipinos and other nationalities who do not use English as their primary language.

“We can keep the local language and culture but yet make sure those children can also perform with the rest of the world using English,” Matson said.

Using this funding, PSS will maintain recent data on bilingual education in the CNMI. This data will dictate the future bilingual programs of PSS.

The grant will also enable PSS to offer teacher aides who are working with the bilingual program pursue a Bachelor degree in education.

Matson said the help may come in a form of scholarship that will allow these teacher aides continue with their studies at the Northern Marianas College or even in the mainland.

Next month, PSS will finalize its application for the Teacher Quality Grant. Using this grant, PSS can work with NMC as a joint effort to improve the quality of teacher education.