LORENA, Texas — Texas Tech University at Waco is partnering up with La Vega and Lorena Independent School Districts to help college students pursuing their teaching degree to experience -- and teach -- in a real classroom setting.
It also allows teacher candidates the chance at developing mentorships with local teachers while allowing the school districts to be involved in their training process.
“The partnership we have with Texas Tech has been wonderful,” said Lorena ISD Assistant Superintendent Rusty Grimm. “It provides us a resource to recruit quality applicants while also allowing our mentor teachers to grow the candidates into what it means to be an educator at Lorena ISD.
Texas Tech-Waco is also offering college seniors up to $20,000 in grant money if they are interested in pursuing a teaching certification in McLennan County. The grant is part of Texas COVID Learning Acceleration Supports (TCLAS), a Texas Education Agency-funded initiative to accelerate student learning in the wake of COVID-19. It is hoped the grant will help offset any financial difficulties for student-teachers.
"To be able to provide funding to the candidates while they are committed to a full-time schedule in the Texas Tech teacher preparation program is an added bonus," Grimm said. "We feel wonderful about collaborating with Texas Tech in the growth of future educators, while also providing monetary support so that the candidates can begin their careers in good financial standing. This program has been a win-win and has been a blessing to both the Lorena ISD and the Texas Tech teacher candidates."
Overall, this two-year teaching model has been successful at a number of regional locations throughout the state, including Lubbock and Waco. Past students who went through the program ended up getting hired at local school districts.
Texas Tech-Waco currently offers elementary and middle school teaching certifications, but plans to offer certifications for high school teachers in the near future. Applications are now being accepted for next fall.