In South Florida, two points that are fundamental for its development come together: there is a great need for teachers and an abundance of immigrants, many of them recent arrivals and in search of employment. Halfway between the needs of one and the other is the Educator Preparation Institute (EPI) of Miami Dade College, which offers immigrants who have a bachelor’s degree from their country, the opportunity to reinvent themselves as teachers in Miami.
“We know that we have a community that arrives very well prepared. We are looking for professionals interested in changing careers,” says Carmen Concepción, dean of the School of Education at Miami Dade College, who coordinates EPI, whose objective is for university graduates to obtain the certification to be teachers in the state of Florida.
The courses are completed in 10 months and can be taken online or in small groups that meet via Zoom, indicates the dean. At the same time, applicants can learn or improve their English, focusing on the communication challenges that they will face when working as teachers.
A key advantage for immigrants, always in need of earning money, is that while they are studying ECE courses they are already working in public schools. The school system gives them work as beginning teachers and they start with a salary of $48,000, Concepción points out.
From accountant in Venezuela to teacher in Miami
Andre Villarroel de la Concha was an accountant in Venezuela. He studied Accounting at the Catholic University because they told him that this career would give him financial stability, but his dream was always to be a teacher.
“All my life, since I was little, I studied teaching my mom the classes. He had a little blackboard and chalk,” recalls Villarroel, who came to the United States in 2005 and settled in Orlando, where he improved the English that he brought from his country as a professional.
In 2010, he moved to Miami and took a job at a company where he reported to 25 people in the customer service department. She stayed there for nine years, until in September she decided to call Miami Dade College to inquire about the EPI program.
At 44 years old, Villarroel thought it was the perfect time to make the career change. In the summer he finishes his last year of the EPI program, and is already teaching math, algebra and geometry at Highland Oaks Middle School in Aventura.
“This is what I was born for, I am doing it by vocation. It’s the only thing I like, I’ve always believed that education is essential for any society to be successful”, says the professor, indicating that what he may have lost in salary when changing careers, he has gained in benefits.
“One of the aspects that I liked the most about this course is that you have a guide, a professional support that tells you what steps you should take first,” says Villarroel, thanking the counseling of Anabel Fariñas, who is in charge of giving personalized attention to EPI students.
Concepción indicates that the career change is also an option for professionals established in Miami who are looking for other horizons.
“50 percent of teachers in school systems have changed careers,” he specifies how common this process is in the United States, and that many can even study other careers or pay university debts while working as teachers.
Requirements and courses in the EPI teacher program
Prospective students must have a college degree to start the EPI program. In the case of immigrants, they must translate their degree and send it to the Department of Education, says the dean.
Miami Dade College offers students help in the process to get the equivalence in United States of the title of your countrya management that can be carried out on their part with the office of Josef Silny & Associates, licensed in South Florida to do grade equivalencies of studies abroad.
To graduate they must earn 21 credits, but they won’t feel a great academic load because they only take one course per quarter. The subjects are focused on teaching and they are also taught “very contextualized” English, says Concepción.
“They will prepare them to teach the subject, talk to parents, give instructions to students,” he exemplifies.
Miami Dade College also has a program focused on immigrants who arrived with parole, REVESTy un programa de ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) para teach English to immigrants who need to learn fastwith a view to looking for work or studying accelerated courses that allow them to get a better paid job.
In turn, these programs give them scholarships and financial aid and are offered in various modalities, which allow them to advance at their own pace, from their computer, or attend school at convenient times.
Educator Preparation Institute (EPI) from Miami Dade College School of Education, 305-237-6203 and [email protected]
2023-05-27 05:40:44
#title #country #reinvent #Miami #start #earning
