Washington, D.C. - Congressman Rick Larsen announced today that Skagit Valley College will receive $835,000 over five years for its bilingual educator training program.  The funding, which is part of the U.S. Department of Education Career Ladder Program, will allow Skagit Valley College to develop a two-year certificate training program that will add  bilingual language and cultural components to the current Washington state competency requirements for teacher assistants who work with students not fluent in English.

“There is an increasing demand for bilingual educators in Northwest Washington and this funding will help ensure that all students receive the education they need,” said Larsen.  Currently more than 1300 students in the Mount Vernon school district alone could benefit from teachers trained in bilingual education.

“All students in Washington state deserve to receive a quality education, regardless of cultural background,” Larsen continued.  “I am proud that Skagit Valley College will now be able to better train educators to fill the void for bilingual students in my district.”

The program will work to enhance the qualifications of teacher assistants who currently work with students not fluent in English, and recruit and train new bilingual education teachers. The U.S. Department of Education awarded Skagit Valley College $167,000 for the 2001-2002 school year and will continue to provide annual grants until the 2006.