BPS Bilingual Educators & Accelerated Community to Teacher Program (BEACTT) 2026-2027 Cohort

POSITION: BPS Bilingual Educators & Accelerated Community to Teacher Program 2027 Cohort member

REPORTS TO: Director of BPS Teacher Pipeline and MTEL Programs

Position Number: N/A

Grade: N/A

BPS TEACHER PIPELINES OVERVIEW
Boston Public Schools Teacher Pipeline Programs (BPS TPP) are part of the larger strategy of the Office of Human Resources (OHR) to address the demand for highly qualified equity-minded and racially literate teachers for Bostons classrooms. Our core belief is that the next generation of Bostons teachers is in the schools homes and communities of Boston right now. This permeates all the work we do. BPS TPP are multigenerational community-based teacher preparation programs for preservice and in-service teachers. We represent the third generation of teacher preparation programs in the US - Teacher 3.0 (Kretchmar & Zeichner 2016)- where our candidates are prepared to work in solidarity with their families and students by interrupting racism at personal and systemic levels using the critical literacy of race (Sealey-Ruiz 2020).

Our teacher preparation programs are unique: we are among the few nationally and certainly the states only locally-embedded state-approved multigenerational grow your own educator preparation program. The overarching mission of the BPS TPP is to support racially linguistically and culturally diverse teachers by providing a coherent and comprehensive pathway from paraeducator to professional teacher. Keeping students at the center of our work we aim to cultivate teachers who empower young people to be change agents for the citys communities. This is work we know can happen in classrooms where teachers are committed responsive and reflective of the students and their various cultures heritages backgrounds and May 2025 we will expand our program by launching a federally-funded Bilingual Inclusive Education Program which will cultivate bilingual and multilingual paraeducators to become BPS educators in inclusive classrooms. BPS TPPs three overarching goals are:

• develop and sustain an affordable pathway to an advanced degree for BPS teachers of color;
• increase the number of BPS teachers who reflect the linguistic racial and ethnic diversity of Bostons students through an accessible pathway and supportive programming and
• improve the ability and agency of BPS teachers to center race and racism through culturally affirming pedagogy and practice

The BPS TPP comprises three programs the flagship program is the Bilingual Educators/Accelerated Community to Teacher program. Since 2022 five times as many of our BE/ACTT candidates have become BPS teachers of record and our program has also almost doubled in size. BE/ACTT candidates go on to become BPS Teaching Fellows. Since 2022 78% of BPS Teaching Fellowship completers are still teaching in BPS. Also since 2022 the BPS Teaching Fellowship has more than doubled in size. Prior to SY22-23 we had an average of 15.4 completers; since SY22-23 our average number of completers is 32. Finally the demographics of the BPS Teaching Fellowship completers who remain teaching in BPS more closely reflect that of BPS students than the overall BPS teacher workforce.

BILINGUAL EDUCATORS & ACCELERATED COMMUNITY TO TEACHER PROGRAM OVERVIEW

The Boston Public Schools BE/ACTT program is part of OHRs overarching strategy to increase and improve the diversity of exemplary multilingual learner teachers and teachers to students with disabilities. The BE/ACTT program identifies and develops Boston residents paraprofessionals and career-changers who are passionate about teaching in BPS. This intensive no-cost 12-month program is designed to prepare interested residents of the Boston community who hold a Bachelors degree and have experience working with children in a classroom setting to become SEI-endorsed teachers with a provisional license. Program participants develop their teaching skills in a cohort and learn from highly skilled BPS teachers and university partners through a rigorous interactive experience. Participants are required to prepare a competency-based hiring portfolio and participate in a pre-practicum experience in classrooms that include multilingual learners and students with disabilities. Program faculty use each participants learning portfolio classroom participation and mentor teacher feedback from their teaching experiences to determine a candidates readiness for a full-time teaching role as an SEI-endorsed teacher.

Participant Benefits:

Our innovative training model is designed to help BE/ACTT candidates lead their students to success from the moment they step into their classrooms.

• One-on-One Intensive & Individualized Coaching: Our coaching model will help you see exponential growth as you prepare to become a BPS teacher of record. We offer wrap-around support in that we support our candidates with all aspects of the program and with any needs that might arise as they work through this intensive program. We also offer individualized hiring and MTEL preparation support for candidates.

• Coursework: BE/ACTT candidates take courses three nights a week and some Saturdays from September-May. Course topics include:
• Foundational Sociocultural Theories and Practices
• Inclusive Education
• Classroom Management
• Introduction to lesson plan development
• Introduction to BPS practices and policies
• Bilingual education workshops
• Content Methods courses

BE/ACTT candidates are also highly encouraged to complete Rethinking Equity and Teaching for English Language Learners (RETELL) coursework to earn a Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) Endorsement and to prepare for and attempt both the Communications and Literacy Reading and the Communications and Literacy Writing MTELs by January 2027.

• Pre-Practicum: BE/ACTT candidates engage in a pre-practicum experience as part of the coursework. This involves observing teaching videos and learning how to example student work using protocols and giving an instructional focus. All who complete all program requirements will be encouraged to apply to the BPS Teaching Fellowship provided they become a teacher of record by September 30. Throughout the spring and summer candidates can take advantage of open district hiring opportunities such as job fairs Demo Day demonstration dates and networking events for aspiring educators.

• Assessment of Performance: At the end of the year BE/ACTT candidates will receive a grade report for their coursework. BE/ACTT candidates are required to complete a hiring portfolio.

Who is Eligible

In order to participate in the program candidates must:

• Have a demonstrated orientation to justice and equity
• Have experience working with youth as a BPS paraeducator or substitute teacher or a community member career changer
• Earn a bachelors degree by June 15 2025

Tuition Cost:

BE/ACTT is a free program.

Program Commitments:

• Attend all course components regularly and complete all coursework on time
• Complete all hiring portfolio requirements including resume cover letter applying to the Early Hiring Pool and attending Demo Day
• Earn SEI Endorsement by completing RETELL course (offered for free by the district)
• Engage in ongoing attempts and preparation for MTELs; attempt MTEL C&L Reading and MTEL C&L Writing by January 2027.

How to Apply

A complete application is due by 11:59 pm on April 17 2026. You must submit your resume and references as part of your application. Once you apply on TalentEd you will receive an email that prompts you to complete two further steps: complete a Google form and sign up for an interview. Thank you!

Contact People: Ivelisse Santos-Hicks BE/ACTT Aspiring Teacher Coach

Required Experience:

IC