Despite popular misconceptions, COVID isn’t to blame for the teacher shortage. While the pandemic amplified the issue, the need was great before then. Registered apprenticeships is one solution to the shortage that is gaining some traction.

“Well before the pandemic, we were short qualified educators,” says Maureen Tracey-Mooney, senior advisor for the U.S. Department of Education Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development.

“We were short an estimated 100,000 certified teachers. And by that we mean teachers that are teaching in their certification areas. So they’re teaching a different subject matter than they’re certified to teach in. They’re not under an emergency certification.

“We were short before and then the pandemic had a tremendous impact on all of our public education staffing. We lost about 9% of all local public education jobs in just three months in 2020.”

The big issues, says Tracey-Mooney, are pay, stress, and support. Teachers are paid 26% less than college-educated peers. Since 2021, 30 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico have taken actions to increase pay.

Stress and mental health concerns have skyrocketed, made worse because of the cycle of fewer teachers having to cover classrooms and duties when there’s not enough, and not getting breaks or time to plan.

A bright spot, according to Tracey-Mooney, is an increase in support from other roles. Since 2020, public schools have seen 43% more social workers and 23% more school nurses, which can allow teachers to focus more on teaching. But it’s not enough.

Relatively new Registered Apprenticeships have become a popular and successful program to get more teachers in classrooms.

Most commonly used in the skilled trades and manufacturing industries, Registered Apprenticeships for K-12 educators are a collaboration between the U.S. Departments of Education and Labor and combine classroom learning, on-the-job training, mentorship, and wages.

“For this core profession that is so critical to our society – let alone our economy – it’s just too expensive to become a teacher. A lot of folks are looking at the cost, they’re looking at the pay, and the math isn’t mathing,” says Tracey-Mooney.

“What we’re trying to do is really address those affordability barriers that are keeping a lot of folks out. The wonderful thing that we’re seeing happen in our apprenticeship programs – and this is true of some grow your own programs, as well – is they’re creating this pipeline for folks that are already in our schools like paraprofessionals who’ve wanted to become a teacher, but couldn’t afford to get their B.A. Now they’ve got this opportunity to keep their salary and benefits. Often these programs are also discounting tuition entirely or extensively.”

Creating High Quality Pathways to the Classroom

By adding K-12 teaching to its opportunities, the federal government is standardizing the definition of a “high quality” program. Tracey-Mooney says that means aspects like not becoming the teacher of record before you’ve earned your certification and adhering to national guidelines developed by The Pathways Alliance, which includes the workforce, education partners, and organizations like the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education and the Learning Policy Institute.

“[The goal is] for the department to raise the bar, lead this world initiative, which is really focused on uniting the field around what works, what the evidence says works. Eliminating educator shortages for every school is our pillar. That is our goal. That is our North Star. That’s what our kids deserve,” says Tracey-Mooney.

In 2022, Tennessee was the first state to establish a K-12 teacher Registered Apprenticeship. It brought together school districts, the state Departments of Education and Labor and Workforce Development, and the University of Tennessee.

More than 700 students have enrolled and 91% have completed or are still working towards completion of the program. It has also significantly increased the diversity of the teaching bench. Only 13% of K-12 educators are non-white; 24% of apprentices are non-white. Thirty-five states now offer teacher Registered Apprenticeships.  

Grown-Your-Own: Retention and Promotion

Elsewhere, such as South Florida, a grow-your-own pathway is reducing the gap of qualified teachers and vacancies. Brevard Public Schools has 100 openings for the new school year, due to retirements, relocations, and other reasons.

“There’s always something coming from left field, right field, you got things coming from all different directions. As a teacher being able to juggle and balance all of those and still maintain the focus on the kids is a lot,” says Bobby Pruett, director of professional learning and development for Brevard Public Schools.

The school district is taking advantage of a program from the state Department of Education that enables administrative and support staff to pursue a teaching degree for free. The pathway is available for those who already have an associate degree, to earn a bachelor’s degree and the requirements to become a teacher. The need is greatest at the elementary and exceptional education positions, says Pruett.

A partnership with Daytona State College also helps participants meet prerequisite needs. Candidates are able to continue their current role and matched with a mentor at their respective schools, which requires a bit of flexibility on their current employer’s part.

“For them to be able to go through this program and come out on the other side with a bachelor’s degree at little to no cost to them, with a pay increase while they’re doing it, it really would be awesome for our district to have as many people as we can, who are homegrown, who are already in our county, stay here and teach,” says Pruett.

So far, 200 people have expressed interest.

Focus on Children

“I’m hoping the next year, two years, three years is really going to put a dent in that vacancy number and allow us to have a pool of teachers who we can call on and place in our schools for our kids,” Pruett adds.

Tracey-Mooney agrees that any educator-shortage solution needs to put children at the center.

“Every child needs access to world class education, it’s what they deserve,” she says. “As a human, it’s what our country needs, and to prepare the next generation to continue to lead economically in the world.

“That doesn’t happen without the best teachers. It’s just sort of fundamental. So, unless we address the shortages we have now we’re not going to get to that place, not just recovering the pre-pandemic levels, but really making sure that all of our students have that access to a fully certified, effective teacher.”