Philadelphia Inquirer: ‘The strongest talent is already in our schools’: Paraprofessionals get help making the leap to teacher

By Melanie Burney, The Philadelphia Inquirer
April 10, 2022

“After graduating from college in 2007, Kim Son was ready to pursue her dream of becoming a teacher.

She took the New Jersey Praxis exam, a six-hour test required to obtain a teaching license. But after failing by seven points, she was afraid to try again. Instead, she landed at the Henry Davis Family School in East Camden, where she has been a teaching assistant for 16 years.

Now, Son, 40, and 14 other classroom aides, also known as paraprofessionals, are getting another chance to earn their certificates at little or no cost through the Camden Education Fund’s new “Teacher Pathway” program, which, through a $150,000 grant, will help them become full-time teachers while working in the classroom. Some, like Son, only need to pass the Praxis; others need to complete coursework toward their degrees.

“I’ve been wanting to be a teacher forever,” said Son. “It’s taken so long.

Camden, like districts around the country, has grappled with a teacher shortage that is crippling its ability to staff classrooms. The program shows “that some of the strongest talent is already in our schools,” said Naeha Dean, the fund’s executive director. They just need help navigating the requirements to be full-time teachers.

The paraprofessionals, many with years of classroom experience, have been enrolled in Camden U, a nonprofit hybrid college that administers the pathway program customized for each student with asynchronous learning at their pace. They get counseling, mentoring, and test-prep coaching.

“I’m going to push this thing until I uncover every rock and find every person who wants to earn their certification,” said Khary Golden, executive director of Camden U, which has a partnership with Southern New Hampshire University to provide needed training. “I truly believe this work is a game changer.”