Apprenticeships ‘plant the seed’ for future teachers

• Iowa created a new program this year that lets high school students "apprentice" to become paraeducators.
• The Linn-Mar school district received part of $9 million in one-time grant money from the state.
• The 12 participating Linn-Mar students are being paid to work in the classrooms and they are earning paraeducator certificates through Kirkwood Community College.

MARION — Linn-Mar High School senior Kyra Kanz is an apprentice in a kindergarten classroom, earning her paraeducator certificate and exploring her interest in becoming a teacher.

Kanz, 17, said she wanted to get firsthand experience in a classroom before committing to an education major in college. Only a few days in to her apprenticeship, she was teaching 5-year-olds about food groups like protein, grains, dairy, vegetables and fruits.

“It’s an amazing opportunity to be a ‘mini-teacher’ and get experience inside the classroom,” she said. “I needed proof this is a good path for me to go down.”

Kanz is one of 12 students working as classroom apprentices, thanks to a one-time state grant using federal American Rescue Plan Act funds. The Iowa Department of Education and Iowa Workforce Development Agency allocated $9 million for the program, which also helps paraeducators become certified teachers.

Kanz spends 10 hours a week at Westfield Elementary in Robins in the classroom of Tara Dirks, who was Kanz’s kindergarten teacher. As an apprenticeship, she’s paid $12 an hour, which helps her save for college.

Linn-Mar Associate Superintendent Nathan Wear said the apprentices help in classrooms and with recess and also help get students on and off school buses.

Students applied for the apprenticeships, were interviewed and had background checks before being accepted into the program. Wear said the main qualification he was looking for was “interest.”

“We wanted it to be as inclusive as possible,” he said.

School districts are required to provide education and training to the apprentices by partnering with community colleges or four-year colleges and universities. The apprentices at Linn-Mar are earning their paraeducator certificates through Kirkwood Community College.

Training teachers

Linn-Mar also is using some of the grant money to train more than 20 of the district’s current paraeducators as teachers, with Mount Mercy University offering in-person classes on the Linn-Mar campus.

“In two years, we’ll have an additional 20 certified teachers, who hopefully will stay with us here at Linn-Mar,” Wear said. “It’s one of the best programs we’ve seen have an impact on our employees to address the workforce shortage.”

The program provides up to $17,000 a year for two years to cover paraeducators’ tuition and fees at a public or private four-year college or university.

Other area school districts using the two-year grants to train paraeducators as teachers include Marion Independent, Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Mount Vernon, Anamosa, Center Point Urbana, Alburnett, Iowa Valley, English Valleys, Tipton, Benton, Monticello and Mid-Prairie.

‘A blessing’

Linn-Mar High School senior Emily Brennom, 17, is an apprentice at Wilkins Elementary in a fourth-grade class.

“I am very appreciative that I can start learning now,” said Brennom, who is planning to become a teacher.

Ryan Phillips, the school facilitator at Novak Elementary in Marion, said the two student apprentices there are gaining experience in a classroom they might not otherwise get until their third or fourth years of college. He hopes it fosters their interest in teaching.

“We won’t see dividends from a program like this for four or five years,” he said. “All we can do is plant the seed.

“They’re a blessing to the building by providing extra support and being peer role models,” he said. “I know our little people love having them over here.”

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