Gov. John Carney signed two bills Wednesday that seek to bolster the state’s teacher workforce.
Senate Bill 156 allows teachers hired after August 9th this year who previously worked as paraprofessionals to receive partial credit for that experience on the teacher salary scale.
Teachers or specialists with at least four years of full-time experience as a Title 1 or instructional paraprofessional in a public school prior to becoming a teacher or specialist, get one year of experience credit on the salary scale for every two years of full-time experience as a paraprofessional.
The bill’s sponsor State Sen. Tizzy Lockman says paraprofessionals are “unsung heroes,” and the state wants to encourage them to move into other roles in schools, particularly lead teachers.
“Oftentimes, they are just more reflective of the communities that are being served," Lockman says. "You see a lot more diversity in the paraprofessional workforce. You’ll see parents who are also serving as paraprofessionals, you’ll see folks who are kind of just toying with the idea of becoming educators and coming from that community and wanting to start doing work in the school without a full educator credential.”
Carney also signed HB138, which creates a Delaware Educator Apprenticeship program. Its sponsor State Rep.Kim Williams says it is a better alternative than the traditional student teaching experience because it pays aspiring teachers while allowing them to form connections and relationships in a year-long residency.
A pilot version begins this school year and places higher education students in paid positions in schools to complete the training and schooling necessary to become a Delaware credentialed teacher.
“Can you imagine, just coming out of college, sticking you in front of anywhere from 20 to 30 kids and saying ‘take over’?" says Williams. "A semester of that or two semesters doesn’t really cut it. But this way you have relationships, you know what to expect, and I just think it’s a great way to embrace educators to give them the support they need.”
Williams adds these bills help Delaware address the nationwide teacher shortage.
If the pilot apprenticeship program is successful, the state will work to expand it for future school years based on interest and funding.
