PLEDGE Elgin: Elementary Education with Bilingual/ESL Endorsement

Our PLEDGE (Partnering to Lead and Empower District-grown Educators) initiative combines innovative strategies, impactful programs and purposeful collaboration with our partners to expand and diversify the educator workforce to match the diversity of students in Illinois' K-12 schools.

This B.S.Ed. Elementary Education with Bilingual/ESL endorsement program is offered to Elgin Community College (ECC) students who will enjoy a seamless transition from ECC to NIU while staying at ECC.

Our degree prepares educators to work with students in grades one through six. The emphasis in Bilingual/ESL reflects the requirements of the Illinois State Board of Education and Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) standards. Successful completion of this emphasis as part of the Elementary Education major leads to the recommendation for the additional Bilingual/ESL endorsement on a teaching license. You'll have four clinical experiences prior to student teaching, each focusing on a specific element of education, including literacy and teaching learners from diverse backgrounds.

Program Highlights

• Complete the same teacher-licensure program offered in DeKalb on NIU's main campus.
• Each professional semester includes an intensive clinical placement where teacher-licensure candidates practice what they are learning and receive feedback for continuous improvement.
• All student teaching and clinicals will be completed in local districts.
• Co-teaching model during final professional year.

Cohort Model Advantages

Our cohort model is valuable for teacher-licensure candidates because they will share the same courses, get to really know each other (and their faculty members!) and support each other as they pursue a rigorous, full-time program spanning a two-year period.

Ready to Explore?

Interested students should contact ECC Academic Advising (advising@elgin.edu or 847-214-7390) to discuss joining the next Elementary Education cohort.