Dear Wayne-Westland Families,
Many of our staff members are proud to share their Wayne-Westland Community Schools’ roots as either a graduate, parent or someone who has grown their career in our schools.
Wayne-Westland Community Schools recruitment efforts extend well beyond our community and region. We remain a destination district for the best potential candidates because of our strong reputation for innovation and community engagement. We are proud of this status and how it develops such an extensive and robust applicant pool.
However, we often find the best option for any position within our schools' immense talent pool. We want our employees to grow in Wayne-Westland Community Schools and reach their full potential – the same challenge we give our students. We want every team member to become recognized leaders in their craft. This is one of the reasons why the learning from Wednesday’s professional development is so critical to the service we provide our community.
In addition to professional development, we offer staff further experiences that allow them to grow professionally. One recent example is a $1,066,987 grant we received through the State of Michigan that will enable districts to fund education and certification opportunities.
Eighty school districts in Michigan will be developing more teachers from within their ranks with Future Proud Michigan Educator Grow Your Own (GYO) staff grants, the Michigan Department of Education (MDE). We thank Ms. Kim Pawlukiewicz for all her hard work securing the funding.
We are using the grant in partnership with Eastern Michigan University to provide course training for current or future teachers. We have 30 teachers who signed a Tuition Loan Agreement with the district to earn an additional certification (this could be a MAT to earn a SE endorsement or converting a ZS to ZA). All 30 teachers will complete this program through EMU and are projected to start in January 2024.
We also have two additional opportunities to add to our GYO Program!
- MDE is allowing us to extend our grant funds beyond our current teaching staff to allow our ancillary staff to participate in our GYO program! We will partner with Northern Michigan University and Schoolcraft College to develop a program for our non-teaching staff to earn a bachelor’s degree in education and their teaching certification while working in the district.
- Current teachers who want to add certification (not an additional master’s degree, but an additional certification) can have their coursework paid for to attain this certification.
This grant and programs such as an administrative intern, Teacher Cadets, or Future Teacher Courses are examples of how we work to grow our own in WWCS. It has been an important part of our history. It will be even more important as we look to continue our success well into the future.
Sincerely,
John Dignan, Ed.D.
Superintendent