Dive Summary:
- The Northwest Arkansas Bilingual Teacher Scholarship Program is offering eligible students (those who are of Hispanic heritage, US citizens, maintaining 3.0 GPAs, intending to become a K-12 teacher in Northwest Arkansas) $2,500 a semester if they go to the University of Arkansas and $1,250 for attending Northwest Arkansas Community College.
- In the Springdale school district, 44% of students are Hispanic, and the goal is to encourage 90 bilingual students to return to the town as bilingual teachers in the next five years to help future Springdale students succeed.
- Springdale High School Spanish teacher Rory McWhorter says the program is a win-win for the community, as the school is striving to improve its circumstances by aiming to hire its own students later on down the line.
From the article:
Tuesday, October 16, 2012 Hispanic students in Springdale, Arkansas are getting the opportunity to pursue an education and return to the hallways of Springdale schools as bilingual teachers. "To have students that understand the demographics, that would come back and teach at a home high school would be phenomenal to for them because most of them would be first generation college graduates, and for the school," said Springdale High School Spanish teacher Rory McWhorter. ...
