An imperative question guiding my work at the Latino Policy Forum is not if all Illinois teachers and educational leadership should be prepared to meet the spectrum of linguistic and cultural diversity in their classrooms, but how to implement plans that improve their linguistic and cultural responsiveness. This question is motivated by two significant changes in education: newly minted intensified academic standards and a greatly changing student demographic.
To address this issue of teacher preparedness, part of my ongoing work at the Forum involves convening a pre-service and in-service teacher preparation work group to review, reflect on, and make suggestions to developing a statewide approach to fortify teacher preparation for linguistic and culturally diverse students.
Dr. Samina Hadi-Tabassum is a... Continue Reading