The CSU Asian BCLAD Consortium is a unique partnership among six California State University Campuses in California. This consortium was formed in response to the demands of public schools in California, especially in the Los Angeles Basin, where a large number of Asian English Language learner (ELL) students are severely under-served due to lack of qualified bilingual teachers. As an effort to maximally utilize available resources to produce state certified Asian bilingual teachers, the Consortium, offering bilingual language programs in Cantonese, Cambodian (Khmer), Korean, Mandarin, and Vietnamese, entered the beginning implementation stage in the fall of 1999. The Consortium has initiated contact with school districts in its service area for candidate recruitment and potential partnership to improve school teachers’ qualifications and effectiveness in better working with Asian ELL children.

The presentation will include an introduction of the Consortium Structure, requirements for admission, contact information on each of the CSU campuses for potential Consortium candidates of school partners, and the reasons of becoming certified in Bilingual Education. In addition, the status of Asian teachers and teacher training in the U.S. will be discussed and analyzed. Handouts will be available at the presentation.