Students from Walden University and the University of Houston will have the opportunity to gain professional experience in Pearland ISD during the 2026-27 school year following board approval of two affiliation agreements at its Aug. 11 meeting.
The overview
The district will host UH graduate students pursuing advanced degrees in school psychology and related fields for supervised practicum and internship experiences.
Under the agreement, licensed supervisors will oversee the students, while providing resources and evaluating student performance, according to district documents.
The district retains the ability to decline participation by students who do not demonstrate the skills necessary for their assigned responsibilities, documents show.
The partnership is designed to provide the district an opportunity to mentor prospective professionals and strengthen recruitment efforts for hard-to-fill specialized positions, documents show.
Diving in deeper
Through a separate agreement, Walden University will place teacher candidates in district classrooms for student-teaching field experiences for pre-K through 12th grades, according to district documents.
The university will handle student supervision and background checks, while the district will retain final approval of all placements, district documents show.
District staff who serve as mentor teachers may receive a $400 stipend from Walden after completing required observations, evaluations and surveys, district documents show.
