JET October Newsletter

Dear JET Friends and Partners,

The JET Board of Directors proudly announce the appointment of JET’s Co-Executive Directors, Jazmine Benoit and Romie Robertson, effective August 26, 2024. Jazmine and Romie had been serving as interim Co-Executive Directors since April 23, 2024.

Jazmine and Romie have demonstrated their capabilities and commitment over these past few months to lead and guide JET in its growth and development. Jazmine and Romie have been JET staff since October 2022 and excelled in managing the JET Mentoring and JET Recruitment programs, respectively. Romie also worked with JET as a graduate student intern during her graduate education program in 2020-2021. This past year, Jazmine and Romie have collaboratively developed and implemented an innovative, robust JET scholar program designed to keep the scholars engaged and address the barriers they face on their educational journeys.

The Board is confident that JET has a strong future and will be well served by their leadership.

Welcome Jazmine and Romie, JET’s new Co-Executive Directors.

Please visit JET’s website, www.jetintoteaching.org, to read their complete profiles.

What a wonderful start to fall! Last month, our team welcomed 30+ talented new JET Scholars at our Virtual Kickoff. Together, we covered a robust slate of JET programming for the 2024-2025 academic year, invited new Scholars to share challenges and successes, and firmly established our commitment to supporting each other on the journey to degree attainment and teacher licensure.

We are glad to share some of the highlights from our Scholars:

“I am so glad JET exists. It has definitely helped me a lot in my journey to become a teacher in the near future!” – A New Bedford Scholar
“I feel that the JET staff were very empowering and made us feel like a team. I'm excited to move forward with this program and my career path.” – A Springfield Scholar
“This is a truly amazing program to be in. Thank you!” - A Worcester Scholar

Our team is also pleased to share that JET was selected for a $300K grant through the U.S. Department of Education’s Congressionally Funded Community Projects (CFCP) program, and a $450K grant from the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education. We are eager to leverage these funds in ways that deepen and expand our reach across the Commonwealth, and want to be clear: the ongoing trust and support of our state and federal leaders is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our paraeducators, and their profound impact on the children and families they serve.

We could not do this work without you.

All the best,
The JET Team

Teachers and paras in the news

Nearly 6,000 open positions listed in Massachusetts schools as new year begins: “For Michelle Ervin, her English as a Second Language program is starting the year a teacher short, meaning three 80 minute periods per day without a teacher for a group of students. "It's like when you break your femur, you can't just put a Band-Aid on it and fix it. We are broken. There's a broken system and we can't just keep putting Band-Aids on it."

Resources

Happy Hispanic Heritage Month! Check out these resources for teachers from sources including the Library of Congress, National Archives, National Park Service, and more that celebrate Hispanic and Latino communities and their many contributions to American life.

10 Ways Teachers Can Partner with Paraprofessionals on Behalf of English Language Learners (ELLs): Click to learn some high-level strategies on how classroom teachers and ELL specialists can collaborate effectively with paraprofessionals on behalf of ELLs.

The Mass Teacher Resources Free Store is open! Full-time teachers at Public Title 1 Elementary Schools in 70 communities in Greater Boston can book an appointment to “shop” for free school supplies at 400 West Cummings Park, Suite 6250 in Woburn, MA.

Our work is possible because of the current and historical commitments of the U.S. Department of Education, Massachusetts legislature, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, Cummings Foundation, Balfour Foundation, Barr Foundation, The Boston Foundation, Cabot Family Charitable Trust, EdVestors, Grampy’s Charities, Pierce Charitable Trust, Winifred Johnson Clive Foundation, and our individual contributors.

Thank you for your ongoing support!

DONATE NOW