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Developing Effective Bilingual Educators with Resources
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About DEBER

DEBER Goals

The Developing Effective Bilingual Educators with Resources (DEBER) Project is designed to facilitate the transfer from 2-year to 4-year institutions for Hispanic students pursuing an elementary, middle or high school teaching credential with a bilingual authorization by providing them with necessary institutional, academic, and financial supports and resources to persist, graduate, and get hired in high demand and high-need schools.

To accomplish this goal, the DEBER Project will provide clear and supported articulation as a cooperative between San Diego State University (SDSU) and Southwestern Community College, San Diego City College, San Diego Mesa College, all of which are Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI).  SDSU's Department of Dual Language and English Learner Education (DLE) in the College of Education is the leader in San Diego County and the State in the development of highly effective bilingual teachers.

Through the DEBER Project, SDSU will have the ability to provide fiscal and academic resources and support for Hispanic students interested in becoming a bilingual teacher.  This will be accomplished first, by articulating postsecondary institutional transition agreements and programming designed to support teacher candidates from the Community College to transfer and graduation at SDSU.  The DEBER Project will explicitly consider the existing structure of the Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT) and examine if any modifications will be required for the project's bilingual teacher preparation pathway in San Diego County. Prior to transferring to SDSU, DEBER candidates will have the opportunity to participate in academic support seminars and awareness and outreach activities. After transferring to SDSU, DEBER participants will be supported to complete their degree so they are prepared to be admitted to the Dual Language and English Learner Education Bilingual Teacher Preparation Program.

DEBER Objectives

The DEBER Project objectives include: 

  1. developing working groups that include student and community members, and representatives from SDSU, San Diego Mesa, Southwestern, and San Diego City College programs working directly with transfer agreements for education majors with a specific focus on bilingual programs;
  2. establish systems of coordination between CC, Undergraduate Studies, SDSU Center for Equity and Biliteracy Education (CEBER) and the College of Education;
  3. develop awareness and outreach programs focused on the match between careers in teaching and the linguistic and cultural capital diverse community college students bring to the profession;
  4. implement a research-based support and mentorship program for current and future transfer students that include biliteracy seminars, test support, and early field experiences in K-12 settings; and,
  5. establish an Education Community Summit with K-12 partners to discuss development of transfer teacher education model and data emerging from the project.  Ultimately, partnerships created through DEBER will contribute to a comprehensive and streamlined approach towards increasing the educational success of Hispanic students in San Diego County and ultimately increasing the number of linguistically and culturally diverse teachers in local school districts.