Institution Kansas State University State Kansas Academic Level Baccalaureate Issue Area Access Website https://www.k-state.edu/cecd/partnerships/besitos.html Key Personnel Pedro Silva Espinoza Program Focus Development of Teachers, Scholarship Overview The Bilingual/Bicultural Education Student Interacting to Obtain Success (BESITOS) Program is designed to recruit bilingual/bicultural education students and support them through the completion of a high-quality teacher preparation program. They provide mentorships for placement as grade-level, content-area teachers prepared to address the needs of diverse students in their own communities. Program Description The BESITOS Program operates on the premise that acceleration, rather than remediation, is what students need. Students are guided to apply their sociocultural, linguistic, cognitive, and academic strengths to their learning and view them as key to their future success as teachers. The BESITOS program graduates are bilingual Latino teachers who are advocates for culturally and linguistically diverse students and families. Graduates use their experiences and knowledge they have gained to promote the achievement of K-12 students, especially those who are second language learners. Students serve as role models for young Latinos and often as BESITOS alumni are the only Latino educators in their entire school. Graduates recognize that advanced degrees can increase the impact of their advocacy efforts for culturally and linguistically diverse students and families. Outcome The Program has served as the gateway to higher education for 192 students. The majority of students continue with their studies to become teachers, and 72% are retained within the Program. 101 students have graduated since December 2014, with 89% of them are Latino. To date, 31 graduates are either pursuing or have obtained a Master’s degree; of these, five are pursuing a doctorate. Seventy-two students have attended a national education conference, and 56 have had opportunities to study abroad. Learn more about Latino College Completion in Kansas Return to Growing What Works Database
