For educators in the first few years of their careers, professional development can be costly and time consuming.
“I wanted to make more money. It’s tough to spend my own money so that I can make more money,” said Rebecca Helbling, a seventh grade social studies teacher at Liberty Middle School in West Fargo.
That’s why North Dakota United offers the Early Career Educator Cohort: a flexible and affordable professional development opportunity for new educators. Traditionally, North Dakota teachers pay around $50 for each credit, plus an additional $20 for each required book. For non-union members, there’s also a $100 service fee per course through North Dakota United. However, through this program, educators in the first seven years of their careers will have all these fees covered by NDU. This coverage saves members more than $400, while non-members could save more than $1,000 on PD if they join the union and enroll in the cohort, making the cohort an affordable solution to essential (but otherwise costly) professional growth.
In her sixth year of teaching special education at Mandan High School, Alexis Rassett jumped at the opportunity to meet her PD requirements without bearing the typical financial burden.
Quote byAlexis Rassett , High School Special Education
Both Alexis and Rebecca made lane changes with their PD credits. Alexis, who leveraged the cohort and other NDU courses, quickly earned enough credits to boost her salary.
“Within two years, two lane changes, that’s a significant amount of money,” she reflected.
Rebecca needed eleven credits to make a lane change and was searching for affordable options.
“Now I can have more pay in the future in my career and I set myself up for success later,” said Rebecca.
Beyond financial benefits, the Cohort brings together educators from various grade levels and specialties – elementary, middle, and high school teachers, and both general and special education instructors.
“It was nice being able to have exchanges with regular ed teachers versus, you know, with me working in special education and being able to help each other with how to work with those kids. It’s just created some really good conversations in the discussions,” said Alexis.
These conversations help educators share solutions, workshop new approaches, and connect through shared experiences, something Rebecca found particularly valuable.
“It felt like there were more ideas than I expected,” she said.
Through these exchanges, Both Alexis and Rebecca gained classroom management tips and strategies they could implement immediately. But Alexis says it’s not just about classroom management.
“Not all [the books] are about classroom things,” Alexis said. “Some of them are about you things, and how you can be better with your colleagues.”
For Alexis and others, the cohort offers a supportive space to exchange ideas and stay current with new technology and educational trends.
The Early Educator Cohort is available for ND United members in their first seven years of teaching. 30 educators are admitted to each cohort, which begin every January and June. Email [email protected] for more information.
