JET Program News
Meet New JET Board Member, Hermese Velasquez
The JET Board of Directors welcomes new Board Member Hermese Velasquez.
JET’s 2023 Recruitment Cycle Overview
JET is pleased to announce the results our recruitment cycle for the 2023-24 Cohort.
On December 1, 2022, the JET application for the 2023-24 Cohort opened to unprecedented reception. We received a whopping 110 applications, of which 94 were eligible applicants. Out of those 94 eligible applicants, we onboarded 35 applicants and welcomed them to the 2023-24 Cohort.
MassReconnect: Free Community College for Students 25+
JET would like to share the following program that offers an incredible opportunity for students above the age of 25 that attend select community colleges in Massachusetts
MEEP #Allin4aDebtFreeFuture
The Massachusetts Education Equity Partnership (MEEP) higher education working group has launched #Allin4aDebtFreeFuture, a campaign centering the voices, experiences, and demands of systemically underserved students and families, which includes resources to help raise awareness and take action to improve public higher education affordability and access for all Massachusetts students.
Congratulations New JET Scholar Teachers!
The Journey into Education and Teaching Team would like to say a hearty, “Congratulations!” to our new (2022-present) JET scholar teachers.
JET Testifies at the Educator Diversity Act Hearing
Before leaving office, former Governor Charlie Baker signed a historic spending bill with a $10 million commitment of ARPA funds towards diversifying our educator workforce. On June 26th 2023, our very own JET Mentor Program Coordinator, Jazmine Benoit, attended a hearing at the Massachusetts State house in front of the Joint Committee on Education in support of the Educator Diversity Act H.549/S.311.
JET Statement on the Recent Supreme Court Decisions
Last week’s US Supreme Court decisions have cast a long shadow over achieving equity, diversity, and inclusion in our democratic society.
JET celebrates the end of the 2022-2023 school year with Dr. Liza Talusan
Scholars, mentors, district liaisons, and JET staff came together to celebrate the end of a very busy and productive school year on June 21.
JET Staff Attends The Education Trust Boot Camp
On April 26, Jazmine Benoit, our JET Mentor Program Coordinator attended a three-day bootcamp in Washington D.C. hosted by The Education Trust, a national organization that is dedicated to advocating for education equity from PreK through college graduation.
Scholar Spotlight: Shakeyah Scroggins Leads Professional Development for Fellow Paraprofessionals while Working Toward Teacher Licensure
Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with and learn more about Shakeyah Scroggins, a JET scholar in the Boston Public School District. She was born and raised in Dorchester,
JET Joins Panel for the Massachusetts Educator Diversity Act Kick-off
On March 30, 2023, Latinos for Education hosted a Kick-Off Event for the Massachusetts Educator Diversity Act. Intended to promote diversity in the teaching workforce, several groups coalesced in their support of the bill.
2022 JET College Graduates Spotlight
As schools strive to fill in the gaps of teacher diversity and shortages while ensuring quality teachers, we are excited to see more JET Scholars reach important milestones in their journey to become licensed teachers.
Paraprofessional to Teacher Pathways: The Future of Education
Across the country, various states have already, or are in the process of, implementing a number of means by which paraprofessionals can access pathways to teacher licensure.
Scholar Spotlight: Danielle Grant
Recently, I had a fruitful conversation with Danielle Grant, a fourth year JET Scholar in Boston. Ms. Grant shared a lot of insight about her experience, gave feedback on JET’s current development, provided advice for prospective JET Scholars, and expressed her commitment to the field of education. The following features questions we discussed and Ms. Grant’s paraphrased responses.
‘You can’t survive on this’: Public schools rely on paraprofessionals but pay meager wages
Schools across Massachusetts depend on the Amy Morins of the teaching corps. A paraprofessional, or teacher’s aide, in the Lexington public schools, Morin works intensively each day with kindergartners with special needs, freeing up classroom teachers to tend to the other students. On a recent morning, she helped one child with a hearing aid, went over classwork with another, stomped to the beat with a third during music class.
Spotlight of Nailson Fernandez and Lindsay Elliot
Recently, I sat down with Nailson Fernandez, a first year JET Scholar in Brockton, and Lindsay Elliot, a JET Scholar in her last year of her Bachelor’s degree in Brockton, to talk about their experiences within the JET program. Both Ms. Fernandez and Ms. Elliot shared a lot of insight, gave sage advice to incoming JET Scholars, and echoed messages of hope in the midst of a tumultuous period in the field of education. The following features the questions I posed and both of their paraphrased responses.
JET Annual Mid-Year Meeting
On January 17, JET hosted the annual Mid-year Meeting which included JET scholars, mentors, district liaisons and JET staff.
JET awarded competitive Educator Diversity Grant by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE)
JET Awarded competitive Educator Diversity Grant by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Eduction (DESE)
Teacher Shortage and the Value of Non-Traditional Routes
We are excited to announce that the application is now open for the new 2023-2024 cohort of Journey into Education and Teaching (JET) Scholars. We welcome paraprofessionals without Bachelor’s degrees who work in any of our partner school districts to apply now, using this link.
JET Graduate Interns Reflect on Education in the Post-Covid Era Forum
On October 14, 2022, the Harvard Graduate School of Education held an event titled “Beyond Recovery: Seizing Opportunities to Transform Education in a Post-Covid Era.” The event was dedicated to focused conversations surrounding issues in education resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. JET’s two graduate student interns attended the event and reported back some critical takeaways for those within the education space. Thanks to Lisa Phung and Nisha Srinivasa for their reporting and reflections.