Camden schools have launched a teacher apprenticeship program to tap local talent

The Camden City School District has launched a new federally recognized apprenticeship program to help ready its classroom aides for teaching positions. The Teacher Pathway Apprenticeship was announced Thursday as the first of its kind in New Jersey, designed to help fill a growing educator shortage by providing financial aid and other resources to help paraprofessionals obtain certification to become teachers. 

The Camden Education Fund has pledged $150,000 in grant funding for Camden U — a nonprofit hybrid college that administers the pathway program — to recruit and enroll paraprofessionals, also known as classroom aides, already working in the district. Some will attend classes to complete bachelor’s degrees or take Praxis exams required for certification, all at little or no cost.