DES MOINES, Iowa — A program designed to alleviate the state’s teacher shortage is awarding $3.4 million in grants to Iowa school districts.
Gov. Kim Reynolds announced the grant funding for the Teacher & Paraeducator Registered Apprenticeship Program on Tuesday, according to Iowa Workforce Development. The program was first announced in 2022 and has supported more than 1,000 apprentices at 124 Iowa school districts.
“Registered Apprenticeships are a perfect method to train the teachers of tomorrow with extensive, in-the-classroom experience — leading to graduates who are better prepared to succeed in their career from day one,” Governor Reynolds said. “We’ve received such a positive response to the first round of awards, I couldn’t be more excited to expand the Teacher & Paraeducator program to more school districts.”
The TPRA allows current high school students to earn a paraeducator certificate and associate degree and for paraeducators to earn their bachelor’s degree.
In this second round of funding, 11 K-12 districts were chosen to receive grants to develop 68 new teacher apprentices and 26 new paraeducator apprentices.