The deadline for a new Ector County ISD grow your own program is coming up fast.
It’s called Para 2 Teacher and it is funded by a grant ECISD received through the Texas Education Agency called TCLAS, or Texas COVID Learning Acceleration Supports.
“What it does is it allows for us to select current instructional paraprofessionals to receive funding for their bachelor’s degree; also funding for a certification program so they can be become certified teachers and some living expenses,” Executive Director of Talent Development Ashley Osborne said.
The application window ends Jan. 24.
“It has to be current instructional paraprofessionals that are in our system that are current employees that they can apply to receive those funds,” Osborne said. “There are some programmatic requirements that the state has put into place and one of those … (is) that they have to be an instructional paraprofessional, so they must be working with students already in a paraprofessional role.”
Administrative assistants and school secretaries would not qualify for the program.
“But we are looking into other options for those … people that would like to finish their degree and also teach … They also already have to have 75 hours toward a bachelor’s degree. … We already have 34 applicants,” Osborne said in an interview Thursday. “We are super excited and happy with the results of that. And what it shows to us is that there is a need and a want for assistance to help support people as they take on that bachelor’s degree. Sometimes finances can be a barrier to people to receiving their bachelor’s degree and so what this does is it removes that barrier …,” Osborne said.
She added that they can only select six people to receive the funding.
A committee made up of principals, assistant principals, teachers, people in the Talent Development Department and people in Human Resources, will look at all the applicants to ensure they meet the minimum requirements.
The applicants then answer some questions on the application and they had to get a letter of reference from their supervisor.
A signing day will be held Feb. 24 for those who are chosen, Osborne said.
“That’s … the maximum that the state has allotted that we could apply for through that grant. However, again, it’s exciting because we see that there is a want and a need amongst our paraprofessionals for this type of support,” Osborne said.
For those that aren’t selected or who don’t meet the requirements, Osborne said they are going to look for other options to give them this type of opportunity.
The state has allotted $18,000 per candidate — $9,000 each year. That goes toward coursework, a certification program and living expenses, she said.
They don’t have to attend a certain college and they can earn their degree through an online bachelor’s program, but their degree doesn’t have to be in education.
They do have to be in the same certification program.
“So we are going to partner with Odessa Pathway to Teaching. (It) just kind of makes it really simple to partner with Odessa Pathway to Teaching as the educator preparation program to get them certified,” Osborne said.
She acknowledged that there are many teaching programs out there, but people need to find what makes sense for them.
“… The wonderful thing is, if a person has a passion for working with students, then most likely there is something out there that will fit their needs and that can get them in the classroom,” Osborne said.
She added that they can go through the district’s substitute training program and become a sub for ECISD, or they can take on a paraprofessional role.
“Perhaps they became a Reach Associate through Opportunity Culture; they can work with students that way. But if folks have a passion for working with students, there is a means for them to get in front of kids and work with them and make a difference in the kids’ lives,” Osborne said.
A Reach Associate “manages procedures and supervises student behavior during transitions, lunch, recess, assemblies, and other unstructured activities, and while teacher(s) deliver instruction. … All activities are directed by the multi-classroom leader or team reach teachers,” the ECISD website said.
Opportunity Culture helps prekindergarten through 12th grade districts and schools restructure to extend the reach of excellent teachers, principals and their teams to more students for more pay within securing school budgets, the Opportunity Culture website said.
The program is not too intense for the paraprofessionals to keep their jobs. When they complete their degree and join the Odessa Pathway to Teaching program, if they successfully complete a portion of the program, they will begin their internship and begin teaching and be the teacher of record at one of the district campuses.
“At that point when they are in their internship with OPT they are considered a first-year teacher and they are (earning) a first-year teacher salary, whatever that might be at that point. We are really looking at them joining that program in the 2023 school year,” Osborne said.
She added that the district would like to continue the program, but it is dependent on whether the state will offer additional funds.
“But like I said, we know that there is a need and an interest in our paraprofessionals for this kind of opportunity and so, we are going to explore other avenues to funding this — either other grant opportunities or perhaps local funding … so I definitely would say that we would continue this type of opportunity,” Osborne said.
