The inaugural
Bilingual Educator Strategic Training (BEST)
teacher cohort, whose purpose was to prepare teachers with bilingual authorizations for Dual Immersion success, was launched in March 2018 and completed in July 2018, with 16 participants from across California.
The
CABE BEST Program
, through generous funding from the
Sobrato Foundation
, was designed as a cohort-study program that included key professional development, coaching and support, online learning experiences, and access to CABE professional development opportunities.
Participants completed both a pre-and post-dual immersion survey at the beginning and end of the program, as well as reflected on their learning at the end of the professional development experience. The results of both assessments were overwhelmingly positive. The survey, constructed by the authors of the text,
Teaching for Biliteracy
,
which participants studied over the course of the professional development series, included 21 items.
On all 21 items, participants demonstrated growth in all areas due to the strategic professional development provided. The greatest growth occurred for the items “
I feel most comfortable speaking and writing Spanish in academic situations
” and “
I understand [dual] language learners
”
