PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — At least 18 Palm Beach County teachers are stepping into their own classrooms for the first time this week — not as newcomers to education, but as graduates of a program that let them earn a bachelor's degree while working full time.
The School District of Palm Beach County, in partnership with BloomBoard, offers the Palm Beach Associate Teacher Program, a two-year, portfolio-based bachelor's degree pathway for current non-instructional or temporary district employees who hold an associate's degree or at least 60 college credits but not yet a bachelor's degree.
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Participants serve as full-time teachers of record in a paid classroom placement while completing coursework. Graduates earn a fully accredited bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education, Elementary Education, or Exceptional Student Education.
Two of those new teachers, Cindy Mendez-Lopez and Rachelle Jean Louis, are starting their first full-time classrooms this week at Lantana Elementary School — the same school where they completed their training years as teacher's aides.
Both said without the program, becoming a full-time teacher would have been very difficult.
Mendez-Lopez, now an ESE teacher, said the program made it possible to keep working while finishing her degree — and pushed back on a misconception she said surrounds program graduates.
"I didn't have to take off for work, especially with how things are now, it's crazy expensive, so being able to have my bachelor's degree now, while still being able to work and get my experience was very, very great," Mendez-Lopez said.
"I feel like a lot of people have the misconception ok like you know they're not real teachers and this and that, we go through everything we have the state exams and everything we have to do all of that what a traditional teacher does is what we're doing," Mendez-Lopez said.
For Jean Louis, a third grade math, science and social studies teacher, becoming a full-time teacher was not part of her original plan until she learned about the program.
"It wasn't in my mind at all. When I got the email, that. exactly. I was like 'how can I? I have my associates. What can I do? I've already been subbing two years'," Jean Louis said.
Jean Louis said the program is well suited for people already working in education who want to teach but cannot step away from work to pursue a degree on their own.
"If you were already in an associate and you wanna teach, but you don't have the time to go to school and teach at the same time and make the money while you're teaching it would be a good candidate," Jean Louis said.
The program is open to current School District of Palm Beach County employees who hold an associate's degree or at least 60 college credits, do not already hold a bachelor's degree, and commit to teaching within the district for at least 4 years after graduation.
The Associate Teacher position is full-time and salaried at $33,711.60 per year, with benefits. Tuition is district-supported, though participants are responsible for some program costs and must reimburse tuition if they withdraw.
The program's director said it is incredibly popular but also highly competitive, with a thorough vetting process.
Employees interested in applying should notify their current principal or director. Application windows open in January 2027 and August 2027.