Bilingual Educators and Accelerated Community to Teacher (BE/ACTT) Program
In the city of Boston, there are several bilingual and dual language schools, where academic content is taught in both English and another language. The languages represented in these schools include, but are not limited to: Spanish, Vietnamese, Cape Verdean Creole, Haitian Creole, and American Sign Language.
You do not need to be bilingual to join our program! We have a pathway for BOTH bilingual educators and monolingual educators.
The BPS Bilingual Educators & Accelerated Community to Teacher Program (BE/ACTT), an intensive 12-month program, requires the following criteria to be a participant:
● Possession of a bachelor’s degree
● Reside in Greater Boston
● Demonstrate commitment to equity and social justice
● Demonstrate a passion for teaching in K0-12 settings
The BE/ACTT is the first year of our affordable, accessible, and culturally affirming teacher preparation programming. Residing in the Office of Human Capital as part of the Recruitment, Cultivation and Diversity Programs, the BE/ACTT is a component of the district’s overarching strategy to prepare and sustain racially, culturally, and linguistically diverse aspiring educators.
At no cost, we provide coursework and counseling designed to prepare candidates to be culturally affirming, racially literate teachers in Boston’s schools.
BE/ACTT candidates take the following courses:
Rethinking Equity for Teaching English Language Learners (RETELL) course to earn Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) Endorsement
Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTEL) preparation courses
Equity and Inclusivity in Education course
Content Methods course (Bilingual Education, Early Childhood Education, secondary Elementary, secondary English, secondary History, secondary Math, secondary Science)
In terms of counseling, we offer:
1:1 support with coursework and emotional support from our Aspiring Teacher Coach
Guidance on MTEL preparation and testing
Hiring support from instructors and tutors
.
BE/ACTT candidates develop their teaching skills in a cohort and learn from highly-skilled teachers and community partners through a rigorous, interactive community-based experience.
Candidates are required to prepare a competency-based portfolio and participate in a pre-practicum experience. Program faculty use each candidate’s learning portfolio, classroom participation, and mentor teacher feedback from their teaching experiences to determine readiness for a full-time teaching role.
Importantly, BE/ACTT candidates are also eligible to earn up to 6 graduate credits towards BPS’s one-of-a-kind M.Ed. in Bilingual Inclusive Education Residency program.
