After five years as a classroom aide at Lantana Elementary School, Cindy Mendez is preparing to welcome students into a classroom of her own. Mendez is one of the first graduates of the School District of Palm Beach County’s Associate Teacher Program, a tuition-free pathway that allows district employees with an associate’s degree to finish their bachelor’s degree and teaching certification while continuing to work.
Program Helps Develop New Educators
District leaders said the Associate Teacher Program helps develop new educators from within the school system. Participants already have experience in local schools and understand the students and communities they will serve. Lantana Elementary is welcoming three new teachers who graduated from the program, including third-grade teacher Rachelle Jean Louis.
When asked whether she would have reached this point without the program, Jean Louis said, “Probably not.” “I was like, ‘This is what I’m supposed to do,’” she said. The program offered the flexibility she needed to pursue teaching.
Original reporting: WPBF (Treasure Coast / Hearst) — read the source article.
