Educational Aide Certificate (CTE)

The Certificate of Achievement in Educational Aide aims to prepare students for an entry-level position as educational aides, teacher assistants, or paraprofessionals in the TK-12th grade classroom. This program features a comprehensive curriculum that focuses on the knowledge and skills required to support classroom teachers to work effectively with diverse student populations. In the program, students will learn about effective communication strategies, working with diverse student populations, and the theories and practices aimed at supporting student learning. Students will also learn about the historical foundations of the U.S. schooling system, critical theories regarding teaching and learning, the various subject standards (English Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Sciences, Science, PE, and Art), and best practices for designing student-centered and inclusive learning activities. 

The program will have an explicit focus on developing students’ knowledge of diverse student populations and ability to work with teachers, students, and parents in student and equity-centered ways. 

This program’s goals and objectives include: 

1. Students will demonstrate subject matter competency and practical knowledge of working with TK-12th grade students in a classroom setting.

2. Students will be prepared to implement culturally relevant, equity-minded practices with TK-12th grade students in the classroom setting.

A Certificate of Achievement is awarded upon completion of all required courses with a grade of C or better. There are no pre-requisites or enrollment limitations. 

We estimate a total of 25 annual Educational Aide certificates per year. This projection is based on a couple of things:

• PCC has been working with Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) on a grow-your-own initiative, which began over a year ago. Since then, PCC applied for the CAI Apprenticeship Planning grant and was awarded 120K to create an apprenticeship (and pre-apprenticeship) program. The job occupation is Educational Aide and we are projecting that we will be serving 25 apprentices in the school district (PUSD) a year in the program, with this certificate being one of the awards/certificates they get along the way to completion.
• This estimate is a little higher than most CCC's with a similar certificate program (based on Labor Market data) but is somewhat comparable to Santa Ana City College (40 certificates as 3-year average) and Mt. San Antonio College (22 certificates as 3-year average). 

In order to meet the community demand for an increase in highly qualified educational aides, as evidenced in labor market research, this California and Technical Education (CTE) program aims to prepare students for an entry-level position as educational aides, teacher assistants, and paraprofessionals. 

This program features a comprehensive curriculum that focuses on the knowledge and skills required to support classroom teachers to work effectively with diverse TK-12th grade student populations. Students will also learn about the various subject standards including English Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Sciences, and Science. Upon completion, students should be able to apply their learning to design equity-minded and student-centered learning activities. In addition, the certificate also aims to support students for the possibility of transferring to a four-year college to earn a teaching credential. 

Competencies in the program include (but are not limited to): 

1. Communication and interpersonal skills

2. Learning theory and equity-minded pedagogy 

3. Collaboration and leadership 

4. Organization and instructional planning

5. Facilitation and engagement

6. Caring and inclusiveness

7. Student-centered assessment (i.e., project-based instruction)

Program Goals and Objectives include: 

1. Students will demonstrate subject matter competency and practical knowledge of working with TK-12th grade students in a classroom setting.

2. Students will be prepared to implement culturally relevant, equity-minded practices with TK-12th grade students in the classroom setting.

Upon completion, students will be better prepared for employment as educational aides, teacher assistants, or paraprofessionals in the TK-12th grade classroom setting.  

A Certificate of Achievement is awarded upon completion of all required courses with a grade of C or better.

The program requirements include four required courses focused on working with children in diverse settings, developmental psychology, and building the communication skills (written and oral) to work effectively with teachers, students, and families. 

This list of courses was designed in consultation with workforce and university partners, both the Pasadena Unified School District and CSU Los Angeles, across several meetings. The goal was to balance both the skill and competencies required of an effective educational aide, while also supporting students who might eventually transfer and become credentialed teachers in the future. The partners were able to provide feedback based on workforce needs and transfer requirements and this list was approved at an advisory meeting on September 21st, 2023.

Course	Title	Units	Year/Semester (Y1 or S1)
ENGL 001A	Reading and Composition	4	Y1, Fall
CHDV 17	Teaching Children in a Diverse Society	3	Y1, Fall
PSYC 21	Developmental Psychology: The Child	3	Y1, Spring
SPCH 001	Fundamentals of Speech	3	Y1, Spring
ONE from a list of courses (see below)		3	Y1, Fall

Requirements	Dept. Name/#	Name	Units	CSU-GE	IGETC	Sequence
Required Core (13 units)	ENGL 01A CHDV 017 PSYC 021 SPCH 001	Reading and Composition Teaching Children in a Diverse Society Developmental Psychology: The Child Fundamentals of Speech	4 3 3 3	A2 D A1	Area 1 Area 4 Area 1	Yr 1, Fall  Yr 1, Fall Yr 1, Spring Yr 1, Spring
One Course (3 units)	CHDV 30 EDUC 13 EDUC 30 EDUC 32 EDUC 120	Introduction to Children with Diverse Needs Introduction to Elementary Classroom Teaching Teaching as a Profession Curriculum for the School-Age Child Introduction to Secondary Education in Diverse Settings	3 3 3 3 3			Yr 1, Fall

Required Core Total: 13 units

TOTAL UNITS: 16 units 

Proposed Sequence: 

Year 1, Fall = 10 units 

Year 1, Spring = 6 units

a) Do any active inventory records need to be made inactive or changed in connection with the approval of the proposed program? If yes, please specify. No b) Does the program replace any existing program(s) on the college’s inventory? Provide relevant details if this program is related to the termination or scaling down of another program(s). No c) What related programs are offered by the college? None- this would be the first certificate in the Education department (TK-12th)

According to the LMI report, there are 8 community colleges in the greater LA/OC region that issue awards training for educational aides, conferring an average of 111 awards annually between 2018 and 2021. However, they range in terms of focus areas (i.e., general, special education, bilingual). The following CCC’s that might be within commuter distance and offer a similar certificate include: Compton College, LA Mission, Long Beach City College, and Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. Sac). Compton College’s “Special Education Assistant” 30-unit certificate has students learning about child growth and development and various other courses related to students in Special Education. While similar to this program in that the proposed program has students learning about students with diverse learning needs, this Compton certificate is specific to Special Education. The PCC certificate program is more generalized, to provide the content and skills for educational aides across a series of contexts, including general education and special education in both elementary and middle/high school settings. LA Mission’s “Educational Aide (Teacher Assistant, Bilingual) CTE certificate and/or Certificate of Achievement in Child Development Specializing in Dual Language Learning” is focused on preparing students to work with students in dual language and bilingual classroom settings. The majority of the courses are focused on early childhood settings and building the skills in curriculum development and teaching students in diverse settings. While the PCC program also has a course focused on curriculum development for school-age children, it also has a course focused on single-subject literacy that can support students wishing to work with older students (middle school/high school). Long Beach City College offers two different certificates for Educational Aides, one of which is similar to the proposed certificate at PCC. Long Beach’s certificate also has Speech/Communication and a Child Development course as core classes (as does the proposed PCC certificate). However, the program at PCC emphasizes the areas of student diversity and working with students in Special Education as well. Mt. Sac’s Educational (Mt. Sac) Paraprofessional Certificate is 18 units and has students completing the following courses: “Child, Family, School, and Community” and a selection from a variety of courses focused on working with school-age children, including “Child Growth and Lifespan Development”, “Developmental Psychology”, “Early Literacy in Child Development”, among others. According to their website, this program “prepares paraprofessionals to work with children in a variety of ways that enhance learning. Graduates will be able to assist classroom teachers in working with K-12 students, including students with special needs.” Our Certificate: The proposed Certificate of Achievement: Educational Aide program at Pasadena City College is similar in that it aims to prepare students to work effectively with teachers as their assistants. It provides core required courses focused on learning about the psychology of the child. However, this certificate stresses the requirement of learning about diverse student populations and has a course focused on this as a required course. Students are then able to select two courses that are focused on teaching pedagogy, but in areas they seek to specialize in, such as elementary-aged children, students with diverse needs, or single-subject literacy strategies. The proposed Educational Aide Certificate of Achievement program at PCC also aims to better prepare educational aides to meet the needs of the local school district, who was able to provide feedback on the need to emphasize more equity-centered teaching practices and learning how to work effectively with students in Special Education. A key transfer institution, CSU Los Angeles, was also involved in the design of the certificate and was part of the advisory board. The certificate also stemmed from a year-long partners across Pasadena Unified School District, Pasadena City College, and CSU Los Angeles, and is planned to become part of a possible future apprenticeship program at the local TK-12th grade school district. College programs: Compton College: https://programmap.compton.edu/academics/interest-clusters/bc0b9ec3-564c-479a-bea8-2b3b1d335e3c/programs/a8189a0b-4a4f-3f65-424d-fd932c40665c LA Mission College https://programmap.lamission.edu/academics/interest-clusters/a9e6c0f0-8904-4816-870a-0b7340536e08/programs/f2852ba5-78d4-03b9-9240-ec2bbca783e0 Long Beach City College Educational Aide Certificate: https://lbcc-public.courseleaf.com/degrees-certificates/elementary-teacher-education/educational-aide1-certificate-achievement/#programrequirementstext Mt. Sac Educational Paraprofessional Certificate: https://catalog.mtsac.edu/programs/programsaz/child-development/educational-paraprofessional-instructional-assistant/

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