UpDate - Vol. 11, No. 20, Page 1
February 20, 1992
College aspires to attract more minority educators

     By the year 2000, it is projected that only 5 percent of
teachers will be African-American, Hispanic or Native American,
while 30 percent of school children will be non-white.
     The University College of Education's new ASPIRE (Academic
Support Programs Inspiring Renaissance Educators) program is
designed to address the shortage by encouraging minority students
to become elementary and special education teachers.
     According to Gail Rys, ASPIRE director, the goal of the
program, which is funded by a $140,00 grant from the Pew Charitable
Trusts of Philadelphia and support from the University, is to
increase enrollment from 10 to 15 new minority students in the
college next fall and to increase the number each year, so that by
1994, there will be 65 minority students.
     Currently there are 21 black and Hispanic students in the
College of Education, she said.
     ASPIRE, which is modeled after the College of Engineering's
highly successful RISE program, offers academic and financial
support to qualified minority students.
     RISE is a model program at the University and across the
nation. The number of degrees granted to minority engineering
students at Delaware is far above the national norm-19 in 1990 and
16 in 1991. Since the program's inception in 1972, 145 engineering
degrees have been granted to RISE students.
     "Teaching is a very attractive career. Salaries are
competitive with those in other fields, and it is personally
satisfying to help shape the future of our children," Rys said.
     Integral parts of the program are advisement and
learning-study skills. ASPIRE students will be enrolled in at least
one class together, and study skills will be a component of the
class, Rys said. There also will be bi-weekly meetings of ASPIRE
students with academic advisers and monthly meetings with other
minority students in education. Those who need additional tutoring
will be referred to the Academic Advancement Office.
     In addition, students will receive classroom training
beginning in the freshman year, tutoring and teaching children in
local schools, culminating in student teaching in the senior year.
     Rys and Jim Shaw, ASPIRE coordinator, have been on the road
spreading the word about the program, attending college fairs and
visiting schools. They have also contacted the Bureau of Indian
Affairs and Nanticoke Indians. Shaw, who has 30 years of experience
as a special education teacher and educational diagnostician in the
Christina School District, also has spoken at churches and
community centers.
     In the visits, Shaw said, "our emphasis is that ASPIRE is
sensitive to student needs, will provide an atmosphere conducive to
learning and success and that the College of Education is genuinely
concerned about its students."
     For more information about the program, contact Rys at
831-2317 or Shaw at 831-2326.