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TWU, Fort Worth ISD receive $1.65 million grant to address
teacher shortage
7/27/06
DENTON —
Texas Woman’s University and the Fort Worth Independent
School District will partner to address critical teacher shortages
in the FWISD using a $1.65 million Transition to Teaching
grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
One of only 20 Transition to Teaching grants awarded nationally,
the grant covers five years, with first-year funding of $236,315.
“We were
thrilled to be awarded the grant, and we’re excited
about partnering with TWU,” said Dr. Catherine Dikes,
director of the Fort Worth ISD’s Grants and Development
Department. “This is a great opportunity for us.”
The goal of the
Fort Worth ISD program, titled “HQ-ED: Highly Qualified
Educators for Diversity,” is to recruit 120 teacher
aides, recent college graduates without education degrees
and mid-career professionals for intensive teacher preparation
in math, science, bilingual education and special education.
“Teacher
shortages are soaring,” said Dr. Claudia Sanchez, assistant
professor of teacher education at TWU and co-author of the
grant proposal. “It’s important to bring highly
qualified teachers into the classroom, especially in these
high-need areas.”
During the initial
phase of the program, teacher aides within the district who
have associate’s degrees will earn their bachelor’s
degrees and teacher certification through courses offered
by TWU. Those classes begin in January.
“We have
outstanding employees in the district who aspire to be educators,”
Dr. Dikes said. “This is a wonderful opportunity for
them to achieve that goal.”
The program also
will recruit mid-career professionals to become certified
teachers through TWU’s master of arts in teaching (MAT)
program. TWU’s MAT program prepares individuals who
hold a bachelor’s degree for initial teacher certification
while they also earn a master’s degree.
Transition to Teaching grant funds will be used to help pay
the tuition and fees for participants in the program.
“The purpose
of these federal grants is to help find innovative and effective
ways to prepare teachers well,” said Dr. April Miller,
dean of TWU’s College of Professional Education. “We
don’t have just a traditional teaching program anymore.
We have different programs for the different types of people
who want to become educators. That’s exciting.”
For more information
on the Transition to Teaching grant, visit
www.ed.gov/programs/transitionteach. For more information
on TWU’s MAT program, visit www.twu.edu/mat.
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For Further
Information Contact:
Karen Garcia
Senior Copywriter
Tel: (940) 898-3456
e-mail: kgarcia@twu.edu |
