Educator Services Career Advancement
Spanish Visiting Teachers Program

Collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport of Spain

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport of Spain through its Education Office at the Embassy of Spain in U.S. are implementing a program of collaboration to promote the study of the Spanish language and cultures in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and foster knowledge and appreciation of both cultures. That collaboration has been developed successfully in other states since 1986, and in Massachusetts since 1999-2000. That program expanded for the following academic years and in the current 2003-04 a total of 21 Spanish visiting teachers are working for Billerica, Chelsea, Gloucester, Malden, Masconomet, Mendon-Upton, Methuen, Milford, Milton and Wilmington Public Schools. Participating districts employ these teachers, who are certified in Spain, in accordance with local regulations and policies and pay them in accordance with their experience and certification level. They are exempt from Massachusetts Educator Licensure requirements as defined by M.G.L. c71 § 38G.

Every Spring District administrators travel to Spain, invited by the Ministry of Education, for the recruitment of the visiting teachers for the following academic year. The ESE sponsors their visas and they can stay in U.S. at least for three years. Prior to the beginning of school the selected teachers receive orientation in Spain and/or the United States.

Other Programs for Spanish Teachers:

The Ministry of Education of Spain also offers Scholarships for Summer Institutes in Spain on Spanish language, literature, culture and methodology. These courses are aimed at American teachers of Spanish and also administrators. 22 Massachusetts teachers attended these courses in July 2003. For 2004, 15 Spanish Universities offer a total of 25 Summer Institutes. Teachers can earn graduate credits from American universities.

A Spanish Resource Center has been created by the Ministry of Education, in collaboration with the ESE and University of Massachusetts Boston, where it is located. The Resource Center is open to all the teachers of Spanish in Massachusetts, and there they can borrow didactic materials and get information about Spanish language and culture. It is also a center for professional development through courses and seminars which are organized regularly.

The Ministry of Education has appointed Mr. Jacobo Gutiérrez as Consultant to support and be in charge of these programs. He is responsible for the expansion of the program, in close collaboration with the Districts and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, where his office is located. He is also the Director of the Spanish Resource Center. Jacobo Gutiérrez can be contacted at his ESE office (telephone: 781 338 3034 or e-mail: jgutierrez@doe.mass.edu) or at the Spanish Resource Center (telephone 617 287 5949 or e-mail jacobo.gutierrez@umb.edu.