CLAVE invites educators to seek Master’s and Doctorates

MIAMI – A $2.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education is allowing Florida International University’s College of Education to offer Hispanic-American teachers in low performing schools in Miami-Dade the opportunity to earn their Master’s degree, as well as provide about a dozen school leaders with the chance to seek a doctorate in educational administration.

The Creating Latino Access to a Valuable Education (CLAVE) program provides support for the education of minorities seeking doctoral and master’s degrees in the area of education. A group of 13 teachers from low performing schools (grade of C or D) were accepted into the College of Education’s Urban Education program, which aims at enhancing the effectiveness of teachers serving in diverse urban settings.

“It is important that students have role models,” said Delia Garcia, FIU’s interim dean of the College of Education. “We need teachers who understand and are sensitive to the needs of linguistically and culturally diverse students and possess the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to maximize learning opportunities for students in urban schools.”

The teachers who were accepted into the program all come from schools where more than 50 percent of the student population is Hispanic and less than half of the faculty holds Master’s degrees. They started classes in June and some say they are already seeing the difference in the way they are teaching their students.

“You start being more sympathetic to the students and you learn to put yourself in their shoes,” said Sylvia Aday, a math teacher at Homestead Sr. High School. “You can make a real difference as a teacher. I do things more efficiently in the classroom now and I’ve learned how to better plan my day. If your objective is to improve yourself as a teacher, then this can make a big difference.”

For Pilar Suarez, a Spanish teacher at R. R. Moton Elementary, the program has instilled an understanding about how students learn, especially in such an ethnically diverse environment.

“Even a good teacher may not have the right tools to reach these kids,” Suarez said. “We have good intentions, we have dreams. We just need the tools to realize them because these kids are smart. I already feel like I understand my students more than I did a month ago.”

In addition to the master’s program, a cohort of 10 Hispanic school leaders within the district— seven principals and three assistant principals have been selected to participate in the College’s Doctor of Education program in Educational Administration and Supervision, which aims to prepare the next generation of school administrators.

“This grant provides us with the vehicle to enhance access for Hispanic-Americans to post-baccalaureate degrees,” Garcia said. “We continue to have a low percentage of minorities being awarded doctoral degrees in our nation. This program is creating opportunities for minority school leaders in the district to pursue a doctorate, and thus contributing to their continued professional growth and development.”

The five-year program will allow for another cohort of teachers to be accepted into the Master’s program in two years as well as fund the tuition costs of the doctoral students currently in the educational administration and supervision program.

“This grant is the latest example of FIU’s commitment to Miami-Dade’s public schools, its teachers and its students,” said FIU President Mark B. Rosenberg, who recently formed a task force with the Superintendent of M-DCPS to explore ways the two institutions can work more closely together. “Ultimately, our partnership with the public school system will not only benefit FIU and the schools, but all of Miami-Dade County.”

Media Contact:  Jean-Paul Renaud at 305-348-2716.