Szanowni Państwo,
przekazuję informacje odnośnie polskich szkół sobotnich, które mogą być przydatne dla naszej grupy etnicznej oraz przyczynić się do rozpowszechniania polskiego języka w Illinois. Pragniemy zachęcić polskie szkoły sobotnie, aby uzyskiwały akredytacje w naszej agencji (Illinois State Board of Education). Ponadto informujemy, że akredytacja może umożliwić otrzymywanie kredytu z języka polskiego w publicznych szkołach średnich, do których uczęszcza polonijna młodzież. Poniżej treść naszego komunikatu w tej sprawie:
Ethnic Language Schools may become accredited with the Illinois State Board of Education. Once an ethnic language school becomes accredited, they may collaborate with local public school districts to enable the ethnic language school students to earn World Language credit from high school based on their attendance at the ethnic language school.
Per the School Code (105 ILCS 5/2-3.44), an ethnic language school is a part-time private school which teaches the foreign language of a particular ethnic group as well as the culture, geography, history and other aspects of a particular ethnic group. An ethnic language school may seek approval to show that the language instruction offered is equivalent in content, rigor, etc. to foreign language instruction offered at a public high school. At the beginning of each school year, ethnic language schools must apply for approval through the documents located on the Nonpublic Elementary and Secondary School Registration and Recognition page under #9 on the Illinois State Board of Education’s website. In order for an ethnic language school to be recognized by the Illinois State Board of Education, certain requirements must be met:
First, ethnic language school teachers must possess at least a baccalaureate degree and have completed at least 20 semester hours of credit in the foreign language taught, both of which must have been awarded by a regionally accredited college or university (per the requirements of 23 Illinois Administrative Code Part 1.465).
Second, the ethnic language school program shall contain at least 120 clock hours of instruction plus outside preparation for each unit of credit issued upon successful completion of the instruction, although less than a full unit of credit may also be awarded in proportion to the amount of instruction received (per the requirements of 23 Illinois Administrative Code Part 1.465).
Third, documents to verify each item of assurance are available for review upon request by representatives of the Illinois State Board of Education and/or by officials of the local public school district to which students seek to transfer foreign language credit (s). Such documents may include school informational brochures, course syllabi, class schedules, and official teacher transcripts.
If you have any questions about ethnic language schools, please contact Jay Reinoso at jreinoso@isbe.net or by phone at 312-814-0902.
Szkoły etniczne nie podlegają mojej jurysdykcji, niemniej zawsze z przyjemnością służę pomocą, gdy kontaktująca się osoba życzy sobie rozmawiać po polsku.
Wyrazy szacunku
Lydia Kvinta
Principal Consultant
Multilingual Department
Illinois State Board of Education
555 West Monroe Street, Suite 900
Chicago, Illinois 60661
Tel: 312-814-3607
