WSU Tri-Cities grant to pay to turn paraeducators into teachers

Nearly 30 paraeducators from Mid-Columbia school districts will be able to participate in an accelerated program to become teachers, thanks to a nearly $800,000 grant and scholarships.

Washington State University Tri-Cities received the grant from the Professional Educator Standards Board, a release said. The state will chip in with $8,000 scholarships for each student, covering the program over two years.

All three Tri-City school districts, along with the Prosser and Grandview school districts, will participate. The paraeducators will be able to substitute some of their current in-classroom experience for certain courses while taking other needed classes at the university’s Richland campus.

After earning their teaching degrees, each participant will be required to teach in the state for at least two years.

The program aims to address the teacher shortage affecting school districts in the region but also across the state. University officials said while the program is funded for the next two years, the goal is to have it continue to bring more teachers into the hiring pipeline for years afterward.

This story was originally published February 25, 2016 at 4:17 PM with the headline "WSU Tri-Cities grant to pay to turn paraeducators into teachers."