Efforts to improve Hispanic education in the region and raise awareness of post-graduate degree programs that prepare future education leaders will receive a welcome boost from a $230,000 U.S. Department of Education grant awarded to California State University, Stanislaus.
Teacher Education Professor Dr. Juan Flores coordinated the successful application for the highly competitive Fund for the Implementation of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE) grant. As a federally-designated Hispanic Serving Institution with more than 25 percent of its students of Latino heritage, CSU Stanislaus facilitates innovative programs that focus on Hispanic education and leadership topics.
The Stanislaus Association of Hispanic Research project funded by the grant will provide resources that create learning communities composed of CSU Stanislaus Doctoral Community Advisory Board members, faculty mentors, community educational leaders, and students. It will focus on providing an emphasis on research and participation in the Educational Leadership Doctorate program launched at CSU Stanislaus in 2008, according to Flores. To establish a doctoral culture focused on Hispanic education issues, the grant will target current Educational Doctorate candidates and Master’s Degree in Education students at CSU Stanislaus, and administrators and teachers at regional bilingual/dual language schools currently seeking education preparation to provide effective leadership, assessment, and vision for their programs.
In addition to promoting development of school leadership at the K-12 and college levels through post-graduate study, the project will develop programs featuring speakers, educational programs and presentations, mentor programs, and opportunities to attend relevant conferences.
“As an Hispanic Serving Institution, California State University, Stanislaus is committed to providing Hispanic students in this region with leadership training and opportunities for post-graduate study,” CSU Stanislaus President Dr. Hamid Shirvani said. “This grant will help us expand on that commitment by providing programs to develop Hispanic education leaders for the Central Valley,”
In addition to providing resources at CSU Stanislaus on post-graduate topics, Flores said the grant will provide programs for leaders and teachers at regional dual-language schools such as Osborn Elementary in Turlock where students are developing fluency in both Spanish and English in the early grades.
“This grant will provide resources to support and encourage teachers and school administrators to develop their leadership skills by pursuing post-graduate degrees,” Flores said. “Our intent is to plant the seeds that make information available while creating a research atmosphere and a doctoral culture that lead to the improvement of Hispanic education in the Central Valley.”
