College for All Tigers is an effort that began more than two years ago in conjunction with the District’s ‘Grow Your Own’ initiative. As a part of the program TISD developed an enhanced partnership with Trinity Valley Community College in the Spring of 2019. It included an orientation, summer workshops, FAFSA information sessions, and the development of an 8-week cohort class that was held at the Terrell High School campus every Wednesday night. Staff members who enrolled in the cohort completed two college courses each eight-week period. At the close of the semester, cohort members attained 12 college credits.
“It is amazing to see the perseverance and the growth of these individuals,” shared Dr. Larry Polk, TISD Assistant Superintendent of Student, Family and Community Services. “The average years of service for these paraprofessionals is 18 years in Terrell ISD, and they are elated to be the pioneers of returning to college as non-traditional students.”
The District is excited to announce that these graduates will now be able to enter the next cohort under a new partnership with Texas A&M Commerce to complete their work towards their Bachelor of Education, EC-6 certification, and ESL endorsement. Once cohort members complete this next step of their educational journey, they will then be eligible to be hired as classroom teachers.
Carmen Davila, who currently serves as the bilingual secretary for the Human Resources Department, shared that earning her associate degree has been a goal of hers since she graduated Terrell High School.
“I am incredibly grateful for this opportunity given to me by Terrell ISD,” shared Davila. “My goal is to continue with the cohort and complete my Bachelor of Education and transition into the classroom as an elementary teacher for TISD.”
“Beginning this adventure was not easy,” shared Kiwania Jones, Library Aide at W.H. Burnett “It took balancing work taking care of my family and mother. “Many days it was extremely challenging, but I did it! I look forward to continuing on to the he next step of attending Texas A&M Commerce in the fall to finish what I started.”
The initial College for All Tigers cohort began with 26 members and resulted in 16 of the members conferring their degree. Perish Hambric was the first to walk the stage to receive his Associate degree in December 2020. The following 15 staff members received their degrees on Friday: Maria Barrientos, Angela Brumbelow, Carmen Davila, Rita Dye, Kiwania Jones, Katheryn Ledesma, Cindy Lee, Mikaela Marshall, Lashanna Middendorff, Rodney Morrow, Juliet Pipkins, Haydee Tucker, Linda White, Debra Willis and Amanda Zapien.