Beach Park CCSD 3 funds paraprofessional certification through state grant and BloomBoard apprenticeship
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Summary
Beach Park CCSD 3 used a state teacher vacancy grant to support six paraprofessionals entering a BloomBoard apprenticeship pathway (in partnership with Lake Erie College); 22 expressed interest, and district staff commit ongoing mentoring and biweekly progress checks.
Beach Park CCSD 3 is investing a portion of a State of Illinois teacher vacancy grant to help paraprofessionals train for teacher certification through a BloomBoard apprenticeship pathway, a district presenter told the board.
Dave Caposo, invited to the podium to describe the effort, said the program responds to district recruitment and retention needs. "A few years ago the state of Illinois provided our district with an opportunity to have a teacher vacancy grant," Caposo said, and the district used that funding to support paraprofessionals who wanted to pursue certification. "I'm just so super proud of the 6 of you," he added, referring to the six paraprofessionals selected for funded spots.
Why it matters: the district said it received interest from 22 paraprofessionals and conducted a competitive application process considering years of service, attendance, evaluations, applications and principal recommendations. The board allocated grant funds to cover the program for six candidates this year; district staff described biweekly check-ins with BloomBoard and Lake Erie College and ongoing mentoring to track progress.
What the presenter said: Caposo described BloomBoard as an apprenticeship-style pathway that can lead paraprofessionals into teacher certification while they continue working. He said the first semester was completed by the cohort and staff are evaluating workload and support needs: "They completed their very first semester of school," he said, noting the candidates met regularly with program staff and district mentors.
Details and limits: the transcript indicates the teacher vacancy grant is ending soon and the current allocation covered six participants; the district said it would consider expanding the approach if initial outcomes support further investment. Specific dollar amounts, exact funding breakdowns and individual candidate names were not specified in the meeting record.
Next steps: district staff said they will continue monitoring the participants through semester updates and report back to the board as the initiative progresses.