Kiara Santos PHILLY TRIBUNE
A new teachers program has been created to help alleviate a nationwide teacher shortage and help increase certified teacher vacancy rates.
Universal Charter Schools has entered a partnership with LaSalle University with an initiative called the Aspiring Teachers Program, where it develops and prepares paraprofessionals to become certified teachers.
Student teachers pursuing elementary or secondary education teaching certification can receive skill development, 75% tuition reimbursement and a $5,000 stipend for materials and fees. Furthermore, participants can continue their educational career and earn a master’s degree in education.
“With the ever-growing teacher shortage nationally and research predicting vacancy rates of 55,000 certified teachers and counting, the program is one effort to prepare individuals desiring to be educators with the tools, experiences, and confidence to teach in a 21st-century, post-COVID world,” said Penny Nixon, CEO and superintendent of Universal Charter Schools in a release.
Marissa Rivers is the first paraprofessional to complete her coursework and pass the PECT, or Pennsylvania Educator Certification test, to become fully certified. She will enter the 2024-25 school year as a fully certified elementary school teacher at Universal Alcorn Charter School. Universal anticipates that the remaining cohort members will earn certification at the end of the 2024-25 school year.
“The program was a great program,” Rivers said. “Having some classroom experience under [my] belt, I could immediately apply what I learned from the program in my classroom, and I saw the outcomes.”
Rivers noted pressing challenges throughout her journey, however describes them as necessary challenges for growth.
“At first, I was not comfortable,” she said. “Yet, I realized that it was perfect timing. After I had my son, I started, but financially, I could not do it. This program opened the door for the opportunity to go back to school and get my certification. Taking all that I learned and giving my all to my scholars with great confidence, I will be able to make a mark as Ms. Rivers, the certified classroom teacher.”
Two years into the inaugural cohort’s progress, Universal aims to continue the initiative, emphasizing the importance of creative channels and models to develop paraprofessionals and expand the Aspiring Teachers Program to future cohorts.
“The drive and enthusiasm shown by the paraprofessionals throughout the program have been inspiring to us all,” said Kimberly E. Lewinski, Director of Graduate Education at LaSalle in the press release. “We appreciate the experience they brought from working in the classroom; their unique perspectives have significantly enhanced our program.”
