Through a new partnership with Kennesaw State University, a group of DeKalb County educators will receive specialized training and earn a master’s degree to assist with their district’s student needs.

The Inspiring Greatness and Normalizing Innovation in Teacher Education (IGNITE) Teacher Residency Program aims to bolster teacher retention and combat a shortage of educators, while providing them with no-cost professional development. DeKalb County Schools launched the program in January, but the new partnership with KSU will expand it to specifically address a need for special education teachers.

“Bagwell College prides itself on graduating prepared and highly qualified educators, who are ready to take on the next challenge in the classroom,” said Adrian Epps, dean of KSU’s Bagwell College of Education. “This partnership with DeKalb Schools, and other partnerships with K-12 districts, will create a cadre of teachers committed to their students and to the needs of specialized areas of education.”

The purpose of the IGNITE DeKalb Teacher Residency Program is to create an alternate route to certification programs designed to prepare high quality, committed, aspiring teachers who can work effectively with students in Horizon schools across DeKalb County. These aspiring teachers may be current paraprofessionals, substitute teachers, tutors, non-certified employees or college graduates who have a passion for teaching the next generation of scholars.

Bagwell College has similarly partnered with Marietta City Schools, Paulding County Schools and Rome City Schools to create pipelines of quality educators and combat teacher shortages locally and statewide.

The 25 teachers selected for DeKalb’s IGNITE residency program will earn a Master of Arts in Teaching in Special Education from the Department of Inclusive Education in the Bagwell College. The DeKalb County School District will bear the cost of tuition, textbooks, certification assessments, and fees on behalf of candidates selected. All candidates will be employed by DCSD and serve in a paid $30,000, full-time, student-facing position, alongside a mentor, while completing their coursework and clinical experience requirements.

Upon completion of the program and additional certification requirements, resident teachers will be eligible for a full-time teaching position. They will serve as full-time teachers of record in a Horizon School in the District for a minimum of five years.

“DeKalb County School District is an innovative district, and they developed this partnership to address teacher shortages affecting their district, a problem not unknown to many districts across the country,” said Denise Ross, chair of the Department of Inclusive Education and professor of special education. “This partnership is critical, because it helps KSU and DeKalb Schools join together to increase the number of qualified special education teachers and, therefore, the success of our children.”

DeKalb County School District Superintendent Dr. Devon Q. Horton said his district is thrilled to partner with KSU on the residency program, which will combine rigorous academic coursework and practical experience.

“This partnership extends our commitment to providing a streamlined pathway for teacher certification and will help a group of already outstanding individuals become certified special education teachers,” Horton said. “These educators are in high demand and crucial for schools, so this collaboration is very good news for our district community.”

The 25-teacher resident cohort will begin its master’s degree program in June 2024 and must complete the training no later than May 31, 2025. DeKalb is similarly partnering with a second university to train another 25-teacher cohort.