The excitement was palpable among Harris County Department of Education (HCDE) employees as leaders recently announced a groundbreaking partnership with Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU) to launch a two-pronged, dual-certification program that blends hands-on experience with advanced academic training. The Teacher Residency Program and Future Principals Internship marks the beginning of educators’ journey to earn their certification and a master’s degree in education.  

HCDE Special Schools celebrated the program’s launch during its division meeting on Aug. 16 with a signing-day ceremony. Three teacher candidates penned contracts solidifying their commitment to their personal education and that of Harris County students. Seven campus leaders were also recognized for their dedication to our schools and desire to join administration teams.   

“I think the role of an educator is probably the most relevant in the world, and we don’t see many opportunities that showcase this profession,” said Director of Curriculum and Special Programs Dr. Margaret Patton. “This ceremony was an opportunity to spotlight people taking action to do better and become leaders.”  

The new initiatives are an extension of PVAMU’s Leading Equity Across Diverse Environments with Revolutionary Synergy (LEADERS) program. Funded through a $12 million grant from the university and the U.S. Department of Education, LEADERS will serve 260 teacher residents and leaders across several educational organizations, including Houston, Sheldon and Dallas independent school districts. 

Academic and Behavior School West educators Isaac Mitchell, Tammy Gakou and Daniel Etter are part of the inaugural cohort that began pre-certification courses over the summer to learn classroom management skills, instructional planning and content methodologies. 

They expressed their gratitude to Special Schools leaders for the opportunity to participate in the nearly two-year program that will change their lives and trajectory of their careers.  

“The first day I walked into Mr. (Jatata) Hutton’s office, he hired me and gave me another chance,” Mitchell said after making the commitment to the Teacher Residency Program. “I love teaching and working at ABS West, and I’m excited to use everything I’ve absorbed in this next year and continue learning.”  

Throughout the residency, each candidate will partner with an ABS West teacher to observe education practices before co-teaching students. The group must simultaneously maintain good educational standing and attendance for weekly online classes at PVAMU.  

Gakou spent more than 30 years in finance and ran her own electrical company before switching to education. She joined #TeamHCDE last fall and described the opportunity to uplift and train alternative education students as a calling she is fortunate to have found.  

“I just fell in love with teaching and don’t consider it a challenge but rather a reward,” Gakou said. “This position allows us to help kids trying to succeed but don’t understand or know how to manage their behavior enough to move to the next level of life. I’m excited to be part of that change.”  

PVAMU will fund the first-year salaries of each teacher resident and provide stipends to the seven principal interns and their mentors. The agreement allows HCDE leaders to reallocate funding to directly support students and ease the hiring process when teacher-leader positions become available.  

“Our goal is to ensure our students can be effective citizens of our community, but we do that by continuously providing educators with the tools they need to be successful,” Patton said. “Everything is a domino effect; nothing works if one thing does not work well. We must grow our educators into leaders on campus or in their craft. PVAMU is helping us with that, and we are so excited and grateful for these programs.”  

Razjhe Johnson is one of the future principal interns scattered across Highpoint School, ABS West and East. Despite describing herself as shy, campus leaders encouraged her to pursue the internship because of the leadership skills she had already demonstrated. Johnson serves as a mentor for several paraprofessionals, facilitates campus programs and more.  

Interns will take their leadership skills to the next level by assuming additional responsibilities on campus, ranging from spearheading meetings to providing daily direction to students and staff to taking on administrative tasks. The principal certification process also requires candidates to complete a major research project that identifies a need on campus and develops strategies to remedy those challenges.  

“We’ll be able to gain administrative experience through this internship, so we aren’t stepping into an assistant principal or principal position without knowing what that job entails,” Johnson said. “We are getting first-hand experience and that’s amazing because not every applicant gets a chance to do that.”  

HCDE’s Executive Leadership Team is eager to support interns in their career development endeavors by volunteering to lead several seminars. Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Dr. Jesus Amezcua will host a business meeting to discuss building and regulating a budget. At the same time, Assistant Superintendent of Education and Enrichment Dr. CJ Rodgers will offer best practices for monitoring students’ academic strength while maintaining healthy engagement.  

“I think we’ve done a great job of recruiting people into our organization and being very transparent. These jobs are not always easy, but we have a support system,” Patton said. “One of the number of reasons educators leave their job is because of lack of support, but I’ve ensured our candidates that there is a strong community at HCDE, which starts at the top.” 

Special Schools leaders will meet with teacher and principal candidates monthly to discuss their progress, potential challenges and ensure they can complete their certification and master’s degree by December 2025.  

“We’re trailblazers making room for the next incoming class,” Johnson smiled. “I think this will be an ongoing program when we successfully set the foundation, and I’m excited because if they need mentors for the next cohort, we can meet that need.”

To learn more about HCDE’s Special Schools, visit hcde-texas.org/special-schools.