Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has announced $3.4 million in Registered Apprenticeship grants to assist school districts in addressing the state’s need for education professionals. According to Iowa Workforce Development, these grants represent the second round of funding for the Teacher and Paraeducator Registered Apprenticeship (TPRA) Program. The initiative aims to build a sustainable collection of educators throughout the state.
The grants will benefit 11 K-12 school districts in Iowa so far, supporting 68 new teacher apprentices and 26 paraeducator apprentices. School districts were selected based on demonstrated need for certified teachers.
The following districts were awarded grant funds:
- Brooklyn-Guernsey-Malcom Community School District
- Davis County Community School District
- Dubuque Community School District
- Hamburg Community School District
- Mason City Community School District
- Mediapolis Community School District
- New Hampton Community School District
- Panorama Community School District
- South Central Calhoun Community School District
- Vinton-Shellsburg Community School District
- Waterloo Community School District
A full breakdown of the awarded grants can be found here.
“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,” said Ms. Reynolds in an Iowa Workforce Development news release. “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.”
Originally launched in 2022, the TPRA program was one of the first of its kind in the nation. The release states that it allows students and adults to advance their education and careers while gaining hands-on classroom experience.
To date, the program has supported more than 1,000 apprentices across 124 school districts. The second round of apprenticeship grants introduces a streamlined process to help districts more efficiently develop their workforce, the release states.
“Governor Reynolds’ commitment to expanding the teacher & paraeducator pipeline in Iowa through Registered Apprenticeships is not only innovative but ensures schools can contribute to the development of their teachers throughout their entire education,” said Beth Townsend, Executive Director of Iowa Workforce Development, in the release. “Today’s awards are a direct response to schools who wanted to utilize this successful training model in growing a skilled and experienced teacher workforce for their community.”
