Hutto ISD launches new apprenticeship program this fall to grow new teachers

HUTTO, Texas (KXAN) -- Tucked behind a neighborhood off of U.S. Highway 79 in Hutto sits one of the school district's newest schools, equipped with E-gaming arena seating and bigger classrooms with more lighting.

Gus Almquist Middle School was expected to open with 963 students enrolled, but that number can always increase throughout the year. That's to be expected from a school district that has doubled in size in the past ten years and is currently the fifth-fastest growing district in the state.

"It is a challenge to fill our buildings," Cara Malone, the Assistant Superintendent to Human Resources, explained. To meet the demand of a growing student body, the district is launching its new apprenticeship program this fall.

Earn and Learn

The program promises to hire aspiring educators and pay them as instructional aides, while also paying for their schooling to become a teacher.

"They will have half-a-day of training every single month. They will take that training,
and the strategies they learned, and they'll go into class rooms, and they'll work
under the direction of a certified teacher," Malone explained.

The district is partnered with certain universities to provide the higher education while still allowing the aspiring teachers to be in the classroom with certified teachers. Malone says the applicants will earn and learn.

The last year of the program will be a residency where the applicant will teach the entire year under the direction of a certified teacher. Once the program is complete, the teacher will have to commit to at least three years with the district.

"If we can change the life of someone, then maybe they can change the life of our students," Malone said.

This strategy, Malone says, removes the financial burden for aspiring teachers to get their certification, and gives applicants years of in-classroom experience with an expert before having to do things by themselves.

"What I learned in this whole process, is maybe the shortage is not as big as we think it is --
maybe we have a lot of people who just have not had the opportunity to double their income
to become a teacher," Malone said.

There were 96 applicants and the district interviewed 70 people for the inaugural year. The district chose 48 people to take part in the first year of the program, but that could grow in the future.

Growing the program

Malone said next school year the district will begin its pre-apprenticeship program that is tailored for Hutto ISD seniors. The program will give students the chance to learn about teaching and will help them get their associates degree before they graduate.

That means anyone in the pre-apprenticeship program could go to college, or go straight into the apprenticeship program where they will only have to work for two years before getting their certification. Malone said these students could be full-time teachers by the age of 20.