Kilgore ISD Named a Registered Apprenticeship Program

Kilgore ISD has been named a registered apprenticeship program through the U.S. Department of Labor. KISD is the first independent school district in the State of Texas to be recognized as a part of the National Apprenticeship System.

This program was established to meet the challenges of teacher shortages throughout the state. The goal of the program is to provide newly certified teachers with meaningful on time, job embedded support and development.

The apprenticeship program is designed to allow teachers to be paid as they complete their student teacher training and will create a pathway to the teaching profession with less obstacles and ensures prospective teachers will not face economic challenges as they pursue the profession.

In July, the U.S. Departments of Labor and Education announced the allocation of millions of dollars and additional efforts to expand Registered Apprenticeships for educators and invest in teacher preparation programs as part of the “Raise the Bar, Lead the World” initiative.

These allocations include more than $65 million from the Department of Labor to develop and scale Registered Apprenticeship programs in critical sectors across 45 states — with 35 targeting education and more than $27 million from the Department of Education to support educator preparation programs.

The initiative also creates new National Guidelines for Apprenticeship Standards (NGS) for Registered Apprenticeships for K-12 teachers developed by The Pathways Alliance. The Department of Labor is announcing a new industry intermediary to launch, promote and expand Registered Apprenticeship programs for K-12 educators.