A $300,000 grant from Waterloo Schools Foundation will fund the expansion of a thriving partnership between the Waterloo Community School District (WCSD) and the University of Northern Iowa (UNI).

Teach Waterloo aims to diversify the K-12 teacher workforce in support of student success – research has shown that having a teacher of color in a classroom is associated with higher achievement and increases the likelihood that students of color complete high school and attend college.

Teach Waterloo provides paraeducators and other support personnel of color at WCSD a streamlined path to earning teacher licensure through UNI. Participants in the program, known as fellows, commit to a three-year agreement for employment with Waterloo Schools upon graduation. The fellows have access to support during their studies, including advising, success coaching, textbooks and tuition scholarships. They are also paired with a master teacher who serves as a liaison to WCSD and have the opportunity to attend class during the workday.

The grant from the Waterloo Schools Foundation will directly support a new group of 12 Teach Waterloo fellows largely through tuition scholarships. With the new class of fellows, Teach Waterloo is expanding to meet workforce needs in key content areas identified by the district, including special education and middle level education. To date, the program has focused on elementary educators, graduating its first fellow in the fall of 2020 and two in the spring of 2021. Eight fellows are currently enrolled.

“This unique partnership is transformational for our students, staff, schools and community,” said Hannah Luce, executive director of the Waterloo Schools Foundation. “We are grateful for the late Eleanor and Kenneth Ketcham for making this gift possible and excited to champion the continued success of the Teach Waterloo fellows.”

“The Teach Waterloo program highlights our collective commitment to growing and diversifying the teacher workforce locally,” said Colleen Mulholland, dean of the College of Education. “It takes an authentic, collaborative partnership like the one we have with Waterloo Schools to fine-tune our goal of a supportive and personalized paraeducator pathway to licensure. We are very proud of this work.”

“While the impact on our students is the reason why this work is so important, the impact that we are having on the individuals in the program and their families is immeasurable,” said Kingsley Botchway II, chief officer of human resources & equity for WCSD. “The collaboration between the District, UNI and our financial supporters has made Teach Waterloo an amazing success – we appreciate the Waterloo Schools Foundation's vision in funding the next phase of our work.”

Fellows qualify for Teach Waterloo in three ways: they must be employed by WCSD as a paraeducator or other support staff, they must have earned an associate’s degree or hold at least 60 hours of college credit, and they must be endorsed by a building principal or school administrator.

Additional support for Teach Waterloo is provided by the R.J. McElroy Charitable Trust.

The Waterloo Schools Foundation’s gift was made through the UNI Foundation. For more information about the UNI Foundation, visit foundation.uni.edu.

Contact: 

Sarah Parsons, UNI Advancement, sarah.parsons@uni.edu, 319-273-2505.