Victoria ISD has received a $114,000 grant as part of the Texas Education Agency’s (TEA) Grow Your Own (GYO) program.
VISD has opted to use the grant money to help paraprofessionals, specifically instructional aides, throughout the district become certified teachers. The district is allowed a max of six candidates to participate in this program, starting in the 2022-23 school year.
Each candidate in the program will receive between $7,500 to $18,000 in tuition reimbursement, depending on whether they will be receiving both a Bachelor’s degree and certification or certification-only.
VISD will select candidates for the program through a survey selection process. To be considered for selection, applicants must:
Not already hold a teacher certification in the state of Texas or currently be the teacher of record for any position they intend to fill after certification
Already have a minimum of 75 credit hours towards a bachelor’s degree
Have the capacity to graduate with a bachelor’s degree and teacher certification within the timeline of the grant
Be able to serve as a full-time teacher of record the semester after completing their certification
Currently be employed as a paraprofessional or instructional aide within VISD during the 2021-22 school year
Have been serving in a capacity in which the majority of their time is spent assisting certified teachers in instructional activities
"What better place to find teachers than in our own paraprofessionals,” said Lisa Cortez, director of professional staff for VISD. “They have chosen to teach, and they know and are committed to our students, staff and community."
The Grow Your Own grant was awarded through the Texas COVID Learning Acceleration Supports (TCLAS) program, where VISD received more than $5 million total. To view that press release outlining funding allocations, visit https://www.visd.net/article/536711.
About Grow Your Own
The Grow Your Own (GYO) grant program aims to elevate the teaching profession in Texas by developing high-quality Education and Training courses at the high school level and by creating grant-funded teacher pipelines to increase the pool and diversity of Texas’ future classroom leaders. With an emphasis on small and rural school districts, this effort addresses challenges Texas currently faces in terms of recruiting and retaining teacher candidates in hard-to-staff areas.