With an $8.4 million federal grant, the Lehman College School of Education is looking to increase the pool of bilingual teachers by 120 people to help address the borough’s growing linguistic diversity and growing shortage of bilingual educators.
"A Lehman education is about much more than getting a degree—it’s about giving back, lifting up neighborhoods, and creating lasting change in the community," said Fernando Delgado, Lehman College president. "This generous grant marks a transformative moment for Lehman College that will have a lasting impact on future generations of educators and students in The Bronx."
The five-year U.S. Department of Education grant aims to counter teacher and building leader shortages in high-need urban public schools by attracting new cohorts of multilingual candidates to the College’s graduate programs in education.
“Census data indicate an ongoing need to prepare bilingual educators capable of teaching in more than one language,” said Lehman School of Education Associate Dean Zoila Morell. “The School of Education is a regional leader in multilingualism and education, so the College is an ideal institution to enact and fulfill the goals of this grant.”
The program falls under Lehman’s Urban Transformative Education (LUTE) framework. Called LUTE-MULTI, it will support 120 degree candidates, 60 teachers and 60 school leaders, over the life of the grant.
At the core LUTE-MULTI offers a $60,000 stipend—close to a teacher’s starting salary - for a yearlong classroom or building residency. Typically, classroom residencies require three to six months of unpaid, full-time work, a hurdle which stops many from entering the education workforce.
“The living wage stipend for teacher residents opens the profession to more career changers and heads of household,” said Associate Professor of English Education Tiffany DeJaynes, who will oversee the initiative with Assistant Professor Samantha Chung. “That one year of support changes who can become a teacher.”
The grant will support 60 teacher residents in the fields of Early Childhood Bilingual and Elementary Bilingual Education, and those seeking dual certification in Special Education with a content area such as science or English.
LUTE-MULTI includes three micro-credentials earned through a summer institute and ongoing monthly professional development workshops: multilingual education, student engagement, and social-emotional learning.
News of the award comes just after New York City Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos publicly stressed the value of bilingual education. “I firmly believe that everyone should speak more than one language,” she told the New York Daily News. Nearly 60% of Bronx residents are bilingual or multilingual, the highest percent in the city.
The grant will also support recruitment of 60 educators from high need schools for the College’s School Building Leader program. As leadership fellows, they will receive a stipend to participate in rigorous professional development and field experiences while mentoring teacher residents in the program.
“As a former school principal, I am thrilled to see the inclusion of the fellowship, which will provide 60 future school leaders much additional training and support to ensure their success in serving in our schools,” said Morell.
LUTE-MULTI builds on Lehman’s prior teacher residency opportunities, such as the 2019 LUTE-STEM initiative which partnered with local high schools including Celia Cruz Bronx High School of Music. “It's no coincidence that our student achievement results increased after joining this partnership and our school was recognized by the Chancellor in a press conference to spotlight great high school options,” said Celia Cruz Assistant Principal David Fink.
In addition to stipends and high-quality clinical education, LUTE-MULTI will provide teacher residents and leadership fellows with programming to facilitate the job search, promote job retention, and increase student achievement and socio-emotional well-being in high need schools.