LAND O' LAKES, Fla. — Cassie Reed has spent years in Pasco County classrooms, helping teachers and supporting students with special needs.
Now she is preparing to become a teacher herself.
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Reed, an instructional assistant at Pine View Elementary in Land O’ Lakes, said she first got the idea years ago when her principal encouraged her to consider becoming a teacher.
The suggestion stuck.
“My original principal was whispering in my ear, ' You should do it, you should do it and here I am, almost done,” Reed said.
Reed has spent the last four years working toward her education degree while balancing her job and family.
She said working with special education students made her realize she wanted to pursue teaching.
“It’s assisting the teacher but helping with all the other students with their various behavior needs, sensory needs, their communication so they can learn in their own ways,” she said.
But going back to school can be difficult for employees who cannot afford to leave their jobs while completing a degree.
Pasco County Schools created the Teach Pasco Paid Pathway to help address that challenge. The program provides financial assistance to eligible non-instructional employees pursuing a bachelor’s degree in education and wanting to become certified teachers in Pasco County Schools.
The program is open to employees in a variety of jobs, including instructional assistants, bus drivers and cafeteria workers.
To qualify, employees must have worked in a non-instructional position with the district for at least one consecutive year, receive a recommendation from their principal or director, attend an information session and be pursuing a bachelor’s degree in education.
The district can reimburse up to 18 credit hours per fiscal year for eligible education courses and documented prerequisites. Required books can also qualify for reimbursement.
For Reed, however, one of the most important parts of the program has been the ability to continue receiving pay and benefits while completing her final teaching internship.
She is completing that internship now.
“The main thing would be if I wasn’t able to get paid during my student teaching, there would have been no way,” Reed said. “That would have been my time where I go, oh well, I don’t know about this now because I definitely wouldn’t be able to afford not being paid.”
Employees must apply in advance to continue receiving pay and benefits during their final internship. Employees must submit the application at least eight weeks before the internship begins.
The financial assistance and internship support are part of the district’s effort to develop teachers from within its existing workforce.
“We have a ton of talent in these classrooms, in these hallways, on our school buses, and they’ve really committed to our community and committed to our kids, so this is just a way that we are able to commit back to them and help them realize their potential,” said Kelly Smith, the program's coordinator.
The district says more than 100 employees are currently participating in the program, while more than 30 have already gone on to become teachers.
Reed said getting to this point has required plenty of late nights.
“I’m up all night most nights doing work after the kids go to bed,” she said.
After four years of balancing school, work and family, Reed is now close to reaching the goal her former principal encouraged her to pursue.
She hopes to remain in special education and continue helping students, this time as their teacher.
For Reed, the journey from instructional assistant to teacher is nearly complete.
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