GEORGETOWN, Texas —
Georgetown Independent School District (ISD) has a new program that's pulling talent from its own resources and giving staff members the tools they need to lead a classroom.
It’s called the "G.R.E.A.T." Program, which stands for 'Georgetown ISD Recognizes And Elevates Aspiring Teachers.'
Current staff members without a bachelor's degree can apply to finish their degree and get alternatively certified.
The program removes the barriers of time and money to allow teachers to get their alternative certification. It takes paraprofessionals who are already helping in classrooms and gets them certified as instructors.
Representatives from the district hope the 'G.R.E.A.T.' program will serve as a pipeline to recruit more people who want to make that transition.
"We currently in Georgetown are one of the fastest growing communities in the country. And so we're always hiring teachers," Georgetown ISD human resources executive director Amanda Johnson said.
Right now, the district has 13 candidates in the first cohort who will start as instructors this upcoming fall.
They recruit staff members in January and select the cohort by March. During the summer, they complete modules through the alternative certification program "Teach Worthy" and get accepted into an online university.
By the fall, candidates are in classrooms as instructors while also taking classes.
They should finish the program by the end of the school year and the following year, they would start as an official intern teacher while they finish their certification.
"When we put this program out, we had so many of our paraprofessionals say, I can't believe I'm actually going to have the opportunity to do this work. I've always thought about being a teacher," Johnson said.
"There are barriers, that get in the way of that, right? Time and money. And we're removing both of those for them."
Alternative certification is becoming more and more popular for getting teachers into the classroom.
10 years ago in 2014, less than 30% of certified teachers in Texas had their alternative certification.
Now, according to the latest data from the Texas Education Agency, nearly 40% of teachers are alternatively certified.
The president of iteach -one of the Texas Education Agency approved alternative certification programs- said it has seen a consistent rise for decades.
"We feel teachers should be celebrated. We think the profession should be celebrated,” iteach president Andrew Rozell said.
“We want to be a legitimate option for individuals pursuing the teaching profession, that any way we can build up their training, their support, we want to be a part of that plan."
The iteach program is available for anyone with a bachelor's degree, in any subject other than education, who wants to become a teacher.