English language educators in Las Vegas Valley may get more help

When Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto walked into teacher Alex Najarro’s classroom at Paradise Elementary School, a student asked if that meant his school was getting a raise.

Not exactly.

In Washington, D.C., Cortez Masto has been working with Texas Sen. John Cornyn on Reaching English Learners Act.

If passed, it would create a competitive grant program to fund partnerships between institutions of higher education and high-need school districts for job training programs for English language educators.

A product of the Clark County School District herself, Cortez Masto told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that she knows firsthand how important this is.

Moving forward

“The goal is to make sure that we actually have teachers that are coming through the program that can support our English language learners,” she told the Review-Journal. “It was important for me to find a colleague like Senator John Cornyn that’s from a state that has similar issues so that we can create grant funding to support those teachers.”

Nevada, she said, would have a leg up in applying for funding. Why? Because it already has a program that fits the mold.

On Monday afternoon, Cortez Masto visited UNLV, where Nevada Forward Initiative first started (originally called Paraprofessional Pathways Project) in 2021. The program has since been expanded into an undergraduate and graduate program, offering apprenticeships to people on their path to becoming licensed teachers.

In September 2023, the Nevada Forward Initiative became the first registered apprenticeship in teaching by the Department of Labor, according to Kelsea Claus, the program and communications coordinator for the forward apprenticeship program.

Advocates say the program, which aims to help solve teacher shortages, ought to serve as a model for the rest of the country.

“We know the number one school-based variable for student success is the classroom teacher, and so we wanted to invest in people to make sure that every child had a high quality educator in front of them,” Interim Superintendent Brenda Larsen-Mitchell said.

The last time the district was fully staffed was 1994, she said, and on average, there are 1,200 to 1,400 vacancies a year. The 2024-2025 school year started Aug. 12 with 1,030 classroom vacancies.

Diversity a priority

Larsen-Mitchell also highlighted the diversity that the apprenticeship brings to the classroom. According to the Nevada Forward Initiative website, 70 percent of people in the program come from marginalized backgrounds.

“Our kids need to see themselves in their educators,” she said.

She added that 16 percent of students in the district are English language learners. After Spanish, the next most common language is Tagalog, Larsen-Mitchell said.

On her tour and roundtable discussion Monday afternoon, Cortez Masto said she hoped to learn more about Nevada’s program to help get the bill through in Washington.

“You’ve already got the data that shows the success,” Cortez Masto said during a roundtable discussion with teachers and UNLV faculty.

Kenny Varner, the associate dean at the college of education, highlighted the high retention that the apprenticeship program brings. Najarro, for his part, has remained at Paradise ever since he was an apprentice in 2021, the first year of the program. Now, he serves as a model for people to follow and learn from.

Danica Hays, the dean of the college, said she hopes to expand opportunities for mental health counselor apprenticeships in schools.

‘Who likes math?’

As Cortez Masto walked through Paradise Elementary School, she was greeted by excited students who told her their parents saw her on television.

“Who likes math?” Cortez Masto asked the second graders in teacher Kimberly Pacheko’s class.

“It’s my favorite subject!” multiple students said, earning themselves a high five from the senator.

Pacheko, who is in her third and last semester of the apprenticeship program, teaches the second grade class solo. When asked if the program had helped her, she answered: “100 percent.”

“My goal is to make sure we have more teachers like her,” Cortez Masto told the class.

Contact Katie Futterman at kfutterman@reviewjournal.com.