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Usually, students get scholarships towards their education. This time around, teachers are getting scholarships. Three educators who work within the Port Aransas Independent School District (PAISD) were awarded scholarships to continue their education with certificates and master’s programs. This is the first time the school district has awarded scholarships to staff. Most of the $5,000 in funds for these staff scholarships were donated by Texas SandFest.
“So, I’ve had the idea for years now that I would love to have a way to have funds to award scholarships to our staff members who are working to advance their education,” Dr. Sharon McKinney, Superintendent of Schools for Port Aransas Independent School District said. “And sure enough, SandFest awarded a $5,000 grant for us to use to provide scholarship money to our staff members who are choosing to further their education.”
The three educators who were awarded the scholarships are Olsen Elementary School Teachers Gaylann Speegle and Shelbi Thomason, both of whom are pursuing master’s degrees and certification in education administration, and Brundrett Middle School Teacher Lia Philips, who is pursuing National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Certification.
“So, it’s definitely alleviated some of that financial burden. We love what we do, but we definitely don’t have the biggest salaries. So, it’s been really nice to just be able to focus on the program and the assignments,” Gaylann Speegle, the District Dyslexia Specialist for PAISD, said.
Mrs. Speegle is enrolled in a course where she will receive a special certification that will give her the credentials to be able to apply for assistant principal and principal positions in the state of Texas.
“Incredible opportunity that SandFest and Dr. McKinney have given me to just take a little bit of the financial burden of the educational program that I’m in right now. So, I feel really grateful and I’m very appreciative for their support,” Speegle said.
Dr. McKinney said one of the main reasons she wanted to make these staff scholarships happen was due to the rise of costs to receive continued education.
“We want to be role models about what it means to be a lifelong learner and how important education is. As education costs continue to go up and up, and unfortunately our salaries aren’t going up as fast, I just wanted another way to support our staff members who are choosing to further their education,” McKinney said.
Mrs. Speegle said she is thankful for the community support and how much the school district values educators within the district. She said Port Aransas is the most generous school district she has worked for, and she is excited to learn more skills that she can implement in her classroom.
“All children can learn, and if they have the right cheerleader in their corner, then they’re going to be successful and they’re going to see the value in education and they’re going to love learning and I think that’s really important for our children,” Speegle said.
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