PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (Oct. 5, 2022) – World Teachers’ Day, also known as International Teachers’ Day, is celebrated on Oct. 5 every year. This year’s theme is “the transformation of education begins with teachers.” If you add the positive influence principals can have on teachers and students alike, the dynamic sets up guaranteed success in the classroom.
Enter Prairie View A&M University and Houston Independent School District’s new partnership to invest in future leaders of education: principals. The partnership seeks to offer teachers an opportunity to obtain a Master of Education degree in Educational Administration from PVAMU, aided by financial support from HISD for those who qualify.
“Our aim is to prepare principal candidates to be ready to lead in any school on day one,” said Janice Taylor, Ed.D., a clinical instructor in PVAMU’s Whitlowe R. Green College of Education. Dr. Taylor approached HISD with the idea of partnering with the University’s Educational Administration Program, where she serves as the program co-coordinator.
The HISD Board of Trustees approved the three-year partnership earlier this year, offering financial support for qualifying employees to attend PVAMU.
“The goal of the partnership is to develop aspiring leaders across HISD,” said Tia Locke-Simmons, Ed.D., an HISD school support officer and liaison to PVAMU for the program. “Our goal is to demystify the principal certification process and to increase the number of viable candidates prepared to assume leadership roles in HISD schools.”
Off to a Great Start
This semester, about 100 students are enrolled in the program, including 46 students from HISD. Tashawa Davis, who was named the 2021-2022 ESL Teacher of the Year, representing Aldine ISD’s A. W. Jones Primary School in Humble, Texas, was excited at orientation.
“I’m so excited but extremely nervous about this journey,” she said, adding she was thankful for the opportunity. “I’m feeling stressed about juggling work and school, but I know it can be done.”
The four-semester, 30-hour program is 100% online. GRE scores are not required, and courses are structured in group cohort formats. As a former principal herself, Taylor said schools in Texas need capable and certified leaders with the skill set and a leadership state of mind to meet the challenges in the ever-evolving field of education.
“At PVAMU, we hope to increase the number of aspiring and certified school leaders who will be prepared to demonstrate the knowledge and skills required to lead effectively and in an equitably responsive manner to positively impact student learning outcomes in today’s P-12 diverse educational settings,” she said.
A Special Support For HISD
While the program is open to all, the HISD funding is only available to teachers who work in the district’s RISE (Redesign. Innovate. Support. Empower.) transformation area.
HISD has committed $100,000 per year for a total of $300,000 for RISE teachers admitted into PVAMU’s program who plan to pursue a Master of Education degree with principal certification.
HISD Superintendent Millard House II has committed to providing every child access to a great education near where they live, in every community served by the district. To this aim, HISD is also striving to improve its campuses that are rated with a D and F. The RISE initiative is a part of this campaign to transform consistently struggling campuses in the district.
“After earning a B+ rating from the Texas Education Agency, we are more excited than ever to keep the momentum going and to continue to develop a pipeline of world-class talent that can steer our schools further toward academic success,” House said. “Our partnership with PVAMU will ensure that more educational leaders are certified and prepared to transform the educational experience within HISD.”
The scholarship is designed to motivate HISD employees to start and complete the program.
“We realize every graduate may not pursue the principalship upon certification,” Locke-Simmons said. “Our goal is to broaden the experiences, level of thinking and educational leadership lens of HISD teacher-leaders, as this impacts instructional leadership on our campuses and in our classrooms.”
Locke-Simmons said HISD would monitor program results and performance over the next three years to determine the partnership’s future.
“Our constant focus is on building the capacity of students, teachers and leaders,” she said. “There are many strong teachers who aspire, in silence, to become leaders. This may prove to be the great equalizer of opportunity.”
By Christine Won
-PVAMU-