Bryan ISD Education Foundation Unveils New Plan to Empower Paraprofessionals and DI Teachers

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) — The Bryan ISD Education Foundation aims to assist employees in achieving their educational objectives and has introduced a fresh program for this purpose.

The district declared it would provide $260,000 in staff scholarships. According to an interview with KBTX by the foundation’s executive director, Sarah Braden, one of the main focuses of the district is to draw in and keep their best employees.

Braden mentioned, "As a board, we asked ourselves, 'How can we back this objective?' Thus, we've introduced two distinct scholarship programs," he explained. "The first one targets our degree paraeducators—those paraprofessionals holding four-year degrees—as well as educators from our innovative districts. These individuals entered the field perhaps with a different undergraduate focus but opted for teaching and have since dedicated themselves to shaping the futures of our students."

She mentioned that $220,000 will be allocated for individuals with degrees who require just one additional certification step. Meanwhile, $40,000 will support paraprofessionals holding either an associate’s degree or 60 credit hours, as they aim to finish their bachelor’s degree.

I believe this affects both the staff and the 16,000 students within Bryan ISD whom we consider part of our family. This initiative sends a message to our paraeducators and innovative district teachers that their contributions and importance deserve additional support from us as they continue nurturing our students daily," said Braden. "Having more licensed educators leads to improved classroom teaching, reduced student-to-teacher ratios. These factors contribute significantly towards maintaining Bryan ISD’s reputation as a robust educational institution.

The success was due to the funds raised at last year's Hometown Reunion.

When we launched that event two years ago, we were contributing significantly to the district and various programs. However, since initiating the hometown reunion in 2023, things have transformed dramatically for us," Braden noted. "We've managed to increase our contributions threefold.

This academic year, the foundation will return $600,000 to the district.