Pathway Programs Will Help Grow and Diversify Education Workforce

Miguel Gonzalez, Stacy Szczesiul and Henry Rodriguez at the educator launch party. Image by Brooke Coupal
Assoc. Prof. Stacy Szczesiul, center, welcomes two Lawrence Public Schools employees to the Leadership Pathway Program, Miguel Gonzalez, left, and Henry Rodriguez, right.

09/18/2024
By Brooke Coupal

Henry Rodriguez aspires to be a school principal, but he knows he鈥檚 missing a critical credential that would help him attain that goal.聽

鈥淧ursuing a master鈥檚 degree is something that will equip me to someday be a great principal,鈥 says Rodriguez, a coordinator of student support at Leonard Middle School in Lawrence, Massachusetts. 鈥淏ut one of the things that鈥檚 prevented me from pursuing my master鈥檚 is the money.鈥

Now, 51视频 has teamed up with Lawrence Public Schools to offer their teachers and staff pathways to college degrees at no cost 鈥 an opportunity that Rodriguez could not pass up.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a huge blessing,鈥 says Rodriguez, who is now on his way to earning a master鈥檚 degree in education.

The collaboration between 51视频 and Lawrence Public Schools launched last year with the Paraprofessional Pathway Program, which provides school aides and other support staff in Lawrence the opportunity to earn a bachelor鈥檚 degree in聽education, along with their teaching licenses in elementary education (grades 1 to 6) and moderate disabilities (pre-K through grade 8). 51视频 is funding this initiative through three grants totaling more than $825,000 from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

The new Leadership Pathway Program funded by Lawrence Public Schools started in September, allowing teachers and staff to get a聽Master of Education or a Master of Public Administration from 51视频 for free.聽

鈥淭o be able to say to somebody, 鈥榊ou can go through these programs for free,鈥 it鈥檚 really gratifying,鈥 says聽Education Assoc. Prof. Stacy Szczesiul, who oversees the pathway programs.

Participants in the paraprofessional and leadership pathway programs. Image by Brooke Coupal
A handful of participants in the Paraprofessional and Leadership Pathway Programs pose for a group photo.

Diversifying the Teacher Workforce

Schools nationwide are dealing with teacher shortages, and Lawrence Public Schools is no exception. The district鈥檚 superintendent, Ralph Carrero, sees the partnership with 51视频 as a way to grow the teacher pool.

鈥淚鈥檓 excited about the fact that we have a lot of paraprofessionals who are interested in moving up in their educational attainment,鈥 Carrero said to the 31 people in the Paraprofessional Pathway Program during a recent launch party at El Taller Cafe & Bookstore in Lawrence. 鈥淚f you do that, I guarantee that we will be looking at you first to move into teaching.鈥

Crystal Peralta, a paraprofessional at Frost Middle School in Lawrence, is in her second year of the pathway program. A Lawrence native, Peralta wants to become a teacher in the school district so students have another teacher who can relate to them.

鈥淭here are not many of us that have grown up in Lawrence and went to school here. There are not enough of us teaching our own kids,鈥 she says. 鈥淭hat motivates me to get my teaching degree, so I can have a classroom of my own.鈥

Peralta鈥檚 sentiment is shared by her sister Mary Medina, a paraprofessional at Oliver Middle School in Lawrence who joined the pathway program this year.

鈥淭here are always students who have hardships, and I have the patience for them,鈥 Medina says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 great to see them put their guard down, open up and finally find someone that they can trust and believe in.鈥

Ralph Carrero talks into a microphone. Image by Brooke Coupal
Lawrence Public Schools Superintendent聽Ralph Carrero addresses employees entering the pathway programs.

Glennys Sanchez, the executive director of diversity equity, inclusion and belonging at Lawrence Public Schools, says there鈥檚 a 鈥渃ritical need鈥 to diversify the teacher workforce.

鈥淥ur population is 95% Latino students, and only 20% of our teacher force is BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color),鈥 says Sanchez, who oversees the pathway programs with Szczesiul and Lynne-Ellen Garcia, director of teacher diversification, recruitment and development at Lawrence Public Schools.

鈥淲e need diversification everywhere,鈥 Sanchez adds, 鈥渁nd the educators that we need in Lawrence are here in the city.鈥

The pathway programs prioritize teachers and staff who are racially, ethnically, culturally and/or linguistically diverse, as well as those who live in Lawrence or have a connection with the city.

鈥淭here鈥檚 deep research on the impacts of racially, culturally, ethnically and linguistically matched students and teachers,鈥 Szczesiul says. 鈥淎cademic achievement, persistence and sense of belonging are significantly better when students of color have educators of color in their classrooms.鈥

Beyond the Classroom

Sanchez also wants to see diversification happen at the administrative level.

鈥淚n addition to paraprofessionals building their skills to be teachers, we also need people who look like them and can support them in administrative and central office roles,鈥 she says.

Roughly 20 students are in the Leadership Pathway Program, including Marianela De La Cruz, a partnership director for Lawrence Public Schools.

鈥淕rowing our homegrown talent is important to the district,鈥 says De La Cruz, who is working toward a master鈥檚 degree in public administration. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important to keep who we have and support them to become leaders.鈥

Aaron Smith-Walter and Marianela De La Cruz talk at the educator launch party. Image by Brooke Coupal
MPA Interim Director聽Aaron Smith-Walter, left, talks with聽Marianela De La Cruz and others who are joining the MPA program.

The programs are made accessible to the teachers and staff, with classes for the Leadership Pathway Program taking place online. Those in the Paraprofessional Pathway Program take courses in the late afternoon either through Northern Essex Community College (another partner of the Paraprofessional Pathway Program) or at Frost Middle School in Lawrence, where instructors teach 51视频鈥檚 courses.

鈥淚 leave school to go to school,鈥 Peralta jokes. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an amazing program, and the instructors relate to us in what we鈥檙e doing.鈥

Beyond professors at 51视频, instructors for the Paraprofessional Pathway Program include UML doctoral students and current and former schoolteachers, all of whom are people of color.

鈥淲e wanted to walk the walk,鈥 Szczesiul says. 鈥淚f we鈥檙e saying representation matters, we wanted the instructors in the pathway to reflect the students we鈥檙e working with.鈥

In addition to the Paraprofessional and Leadership Pathway Programs, 51视频 offers a 鈥Grow Your Own鈥 pathway program for high school students aspiring to become teachers. This program is available at Lowell and Greater Lowell Technical high schools. 51视频 partners with Middlesex Community College to deliver the educator pathway at Lowell High.

Szczesiul would like to see the Paraprofessional and Leadership Pathway Programs expand to other school districts. She is currently working with partners in the Lowell Public Schools and Middlesex Community College, but more resources may be needed to make that happen. For Lawrence teachers and staff already in a program, they see its benefits.

鈥淚t鈥檚 an amazing opportunity,鈥 De La Cruz says. 鈥淥ther school districts should mirror this.鈥