“One of the most exciting parts of this is these three powerful partners coming together to work and support future teachers, and to prepare them well while they’re in high school and have that dream of becoming a teacher, ... and then to give them the opportunities for student teaching ... and, ultimately, employment, if they choose,” said Michael O’Malley, dean of the College of Education at Texas State.
The new partnership with all three institutions will create a pipeline of future educators starting within RRISD and will create a faster process to have students become certified teachers.
“Grow Your Own is the idea that you work with people from the community to go back and work within their community,” said Maneka Brooks, associate dean of Academic Affairs & Educator Preparation.
The first aspect of the partnership begins with dual credit alignment, meaning RRISD students in career and technical education classes will receive college credit from ACC that can be transferred to Texas State. A long-term goal is to have students in high school take courses at the Round Rock Texas State campus.
Students will be able to take up to 12 classes, equivalent to 36 college credits, during their time in high school.
The second aspect of the program is to develop a teacher residency program wherein Texas State undergraduate students will do their paid, yearlong teacher residency in RRISD.
“That really contributes to both the needs of the district and the needs of our students who, historically, have done clinical teaching for free,” Brooks said.
The final aspect of the partnership is to create clear pathways from RRISD to ACC and into Texas State. Students aspiring to become teachers can start their journey while still in high school in RRISD and finish at Texas State without needing to leave the area.
“There’s much more that can be done here to address many of the crises that our state faces, including the teacher shortage here, that this program will address,” Texas State President Kelly Damphousse said.
Three RRISD students also spoke about their goal of becoming teachers and the educators in their lives who inspired them.
“I believe that teachers are the backbone of society, the foundation of society; they build the community from the bottom up,” RRISD student Grace Nelson said. “I feel so happy inside, and to see [my students] happy, ... to be able to mold these young minds of the future generation is just the greatest privilege of all.”
