TAUNTON — Superintendent John Cabral is pleased to announce that the Taunton Public Schools has received an FY22 Teacher Diversification Pilot Program grant from the Baker-Polito Administration.
The grant program, launched in April 2019, is a state-funded pilot grant program that provides approximately $2 million annually in competitive funding to support local district efforts to strengthen and diversify existing teacher recruitment and retention programs.
“We would like to thank the Baker-Polito Administration for awarding us this grant that will assist us in our efforts to improve upon our staff and teacher diversity within our schools to greater reflect our student body demographic,” Superintendent Cabral said. “I would also like to thank Parker Middle School Principal and grant coordinator Michael Byron, Executive Director of Human Resources Dr. Cheryl Butts, Human Resources Manager Melanie Rosado and Human Resources Specialist Rebecca Raposa for working collaboratively to apply and secure funding from this grant.”
As part of the Teacher Diversification Pilot Program, Taunton Public Schools was awarded $64,232 in grant funding to be used to recruit and retain effective and diverse teachers within the district.
The district will work to achieve this goal through utilizing and improving upon its Grow Your Own program, which will serve as a conduit for diverse teachers who already have connections to the school community to join Taunton Public Schools as educators in the future.
The Grown Your Own program was initially launched in 2018 and offered again in summer 2020 with a donation from the Bristol Savings Bank that supported its summer internship program. The district’s Grow Your Own initiative has created a pathway for high school students to explore careers in education by working in the classroom as well as in the central office. As part of the pathway, the district recruits students with diverse backgrounds to apply to a Leadership Internship Program with the Taunton Public Schools.
With the use of grant funds, the district will look to expand the pathway program for high school students to also include training student interns to be Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Ambassadors. The goal of the pathway is to encourage students from disadvantaged groups to participate in and become involved with not just classroom activities but also be provided with training and mentoring opportunities that promote social justice. The pathway will offer training on topics including cultural competency, unconscious bias, creating an inclusive workplace and addressing social-emotional needs. The students who complete these pathway trainings will then be invited to help facilitate these trainings, with adult support, to the students and staff of Taunton Public Schools.
To offer these trainings, the district will utilize its existing partnerships with multiple local colleges and universities in order to provide courses such as “Introduction to Teaching” or “Introduction to Education” that would encourage students to pursue an education degree. Taunton Public Schools currently partners with the University of Massachusetts (UMASS) Boston, UMASS Dartmouth, Bristol Community College and Bridgewater State University to run dual enrollment programs for students at the high school. To further support the development of the high school education pathway, the district will look to expand into the education field to offer additional dual enrollment courses.
Upon their graduation of high school, the district will then provide opportunities for these students through internship or employment opportunities during the semesters or vacation breaks throughout their college careers. Then, once graduated, the district will encourage them to apply for educator positions with Taunton Public Schools or, encourage them to apply for other positions, such as substitute teachers, while the district assists them on fulfilling their prerequisite teaching requirements.
“With this grant, the district will be able to alleviate some barriers that disproportionately burden underrepresented teacher candidates while also identifying diverse candidates who happen to be former Taunton Public Schools students,” Director Butts said. “In turn, students participating in this program will be set up for success throughout their college experience and have a work opportunity awaiting them at their alma mater upon their graduation.”
Additionally, with the use of grant funds, the district will increase financial incentives aimed to drive recruitment rates of diverse candidates.
“Representation matters, especially within districts that have a largely diverse student population such as ours. With this pathway, we will not only increase our recruitment efforts, but we will also establish and maintain meaningful connections with these students who then will bring these connections back to our classrooms and establish new ones with our future students,” Parker Middle School Principal Byron said.
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