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A little over two years ago, the Hollister R-V School District in Missouri always had a vacancy in special education teaching roles.Now, however, those hard-to-fill spots are no longer an issue at the 1,350-student school district.
That's because the small, rural district — which previously competed with bigger and suburban districts offering higher pay — began partnering with Missouri State University’s Pathways for Paraprofessionals program, also known as Pathways for Paras, said Kristina Smith, the district’s director of special services.
"I have personally experienced that critical shortage and not having qualified applicants that were applying, and that’s not the case the last two years because of this program,” Smith said. “So I’m super grateful as a district administrator knowing I have qualified individuals in front of our students.”
The Pathways for Paras program is a partnership between Missouri's K-12 schools and Missouri State's College of Education to help prepare future special education teachers. About 200 districts are participating, equaling a third of the state's districts, according to Reesha Adamson, program director and associate dean of the College of Education at Missouri State.
The program follows the registered apprenticeship model from the U.S. Department of Labor.
Specifically, it gives paraprofessionals, who support students in the classroom under the supervision of a licensed educator, the opportunity to earn a teaching certification in special education online via asynchronous and synchronous learning, while also allowing them to continue working in their current role. The program also offers classes on Missouri State’s campus for students who want an in-person learning experience, Adamson said.
“Where other institutes of higher ed across the state have had declining enrollment, we’ve had increasing enrollment,” Adamson said, attributing that success at least partly to this program.
Among the program’s first cohort of students, 24 graduated in December, and all of them were employed as special education teachers in Missouri, said Marci Dowdy, the program’s coordinator. Additionally, 38 students are expected to graduate in May, most of whom have been hired to work as special education teachers next school year in the state.
Enrollment in Pathways for Paraprofessionals is on the rise
How it works
Registered apprenticeship programs like the one at Missouri State are needed at a time when 1 in 2 special education teachers lack proper certification in the state, Adamson said.
The growing interest and success of the state's Pathways for Paras program also comes as the registered teacher apprenticeship model is gaining momentum nationwide as a way to address educator shortages — including the consistently critical shortage area of special education.
Some 34 states and Puerto Rico have established registered teacher apprenticeship programs across instructional subject areas with DOL of April, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
There are now seven other higher education institutions in Missouri with similar registered apprenticeship programs, Adamson said. Most of those focus on preparing special educators and early childhood educators.
“I think what we’ve been most successful about is leveraging resources from other entities" at the federal level beyond the Education Department, Adamson said.
Pathways for Paras relies on a “braided” funding model that taps into a combination of federal, state, university and community-based organization dollars, she said. State and federal workforce development funds have particularly helped offset expenses that have traditionally kept students from being successful in higher education, she said.
In fact, workforce development funds have enabled the program to cover costs like transportation and child care, Adamson said. Because of the multiple funding sources in the registered apprenticeship model, the program can provide assistance beyond the financial aid packages that higher education institutions usually offer, she said.
Program tuition typically runs $10,000 per year, Adamson said, “but we have enough resources and support that individuals can go to school at little to no cost.”
The option for remote classes also help participants in rural districts, like Hollister R-V.
The district recently offered one of its paraprofessionals — who is nearing a degree in special education through the program — a full-time special education teaching role for the 2024-25 school year.
“I’m just a solution-minded individual," said the district's Smith. "I’m not going to sit at the table and continue to talk about the same problem over and over and over, and Missouri State through the Pathways program has provided that opportunity to be a win for districts when we are in a critical shortage of special education teachers.”
