Teacher Recruitment Starting in High School
From Mississippi to Hawaii, new programs recruit high school students to become teachers.
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Go to My Saved Content.鈥淒on鈥檛 come back here like I did,鈥� a middle school teacher once told me. 鈥淕o out and do something special.鈥�
That educator was sending the signal to an impressionable kid that teaching is a stale gig, not a higher calling. It鈥檚 a shame because America needs more teachers, and young people will be needed to fill an increasing number of open positions, particularly in districts serving minority and low-income students.聽
Between 2009 and 2014, enrollment in teacher training programs dropped 35 percent, , which went on to reveal that 8 percent of the teacher workforce quits annually. Complaints about pay and working conditions are the most common explanations among teachers, but many cite a lack of administrative support, flawed accountability systems, and the drudgery of paperwork and testing.
But with the teacher pipeline dwindling, some school systems are tackling the issue head-on, reaching out to candidates they know they have to work hard to convince: high school students.
Part of the solution to teacher shortages and problems in education is to engage altruistic young people early.
Known as teacher learner academies, these programs give high schoolers experience in the classroom in hopes of identifying, inspiring, and preparing great teachers before they move on to college. Most are tailored to the needs of the communities they serve, which can mean instilling cultural pride in future teachers or building a diverse workforce that truly reflects student demographics. It鈥檚 worth noting聽that .
鈥淭here are kids who have always dreamed of teaching, and then there are kids who start out just wanting to make a difference,鈥� says Dan Brown, former co-director of , a national organization that supports more than 2,400 schools with high school programs dedicated to helping students learn about teaching. 鈥淧art of the solution to teacher shortages and problems in education is to engage altruistic young people early.鈥�
Giving Teaching a Test Drive聽
I didn鈥檛 heed that long-retired teacher鈥檚 advice back in middle school, and eventually became a high school English teacher. I don鈥檛 regret it.
over the percentage of teachers who quit within their first five years in the classroom, I saw many of my graduate school classmates leave the profession quickly. A number dropped out before they could even be hired鈥攐thers needed only a year or two to feel too overwhelmed to continue.
Teaching isn鈥檛 a 鈥榮exy鈥� career, and聽there鈥檚 very little about it that overtly appeals to high school students. My program doesn鈥檛 have the latest gadgets, power tools, or a commercial kitchen. My students don鈥檛 get to drive tractors or fly drones over sporting events.
To address that issue, teacher academies aim to give students with an early interest in teaching a test-drive that can help them decide if teaching is a good fit.
鈥淚t鈥檚 sad, but many preservice teachers don鈥檛 spend extended time in classrooms until they do their student teaching. If they realize that the classroom may not be an ideal fit, what do they do? It鈥檚 too late to change majors,鈥� explains Deidra Gammill, who has runs the Educators Rising鈥揳ffiliated program at Petal High School in Petal, Mississippi.
In the program鈥檚 first year, Petal High students study the steps required to obtain a teaching certificate to understand the commitment, and interview their own teachers about their experiences. In the second year, students plan units and observe teachers at area elementary and middle schools. Through coursework, students learn about growth and fixed mindset, brain-based learning research, and the importance of cultivating reflective dispositions in young learners.
These grounding experiences help prospective teachers make an an informed decision聽before paying money for a teaching degree, reducing the likelihood that they鈥檒l quit teaching early on, says Gammill. If a student doesn鈥檛 continue into the second year, Gammill still considers the program successful because it helped a student determine teaching wasn鈥檛 for them.
鈥淭eaching isn鈥檛 a 鈥榮exy鈥� career, [and] there鈥檚 very little about it that overtly appeals to high school students. My program doesn鈥檛 have the latest gadgets, power tools, or a commercial kitchen. My students don鈥檛 get to drive tractors or fly drones over sporting events,鈥� Gammill said. 鈥淪o when I promote the Teacher Academy [to students], I focus on leadership and soft skills as what sets it apart.鈥�
Community Connections
Other teacher academies believe that educators will be more likely to stick around if they develop deep ties to the school community. These programs seek high school students who have strong ties to an area and experiences that could foster connections with their future students.
Authorized and funded since 2007 by Washington鈥檚 state legislature, (RWT), for example, partners with high schools and universities to create a pathway between high school classes and a teaching certificate. The聽goal is not only to mold students into excellent teachers, but to encourage more young people of color to join the profession.
鈥淲e delve into cultural competencies and discover the impact that culturally responsive teaching can bring to a community,鈥� explains Carla Smith, the teacher academy coordinator for Renton High School in Renton, Washington, a 10-year-old RWT site where over two-thirds of the student population is black, Asian, or Latino.
The RWT curriculum tasks students with examining their own identities first and聽then聽studying why inequalities exist in education. Considering that RWT sites crop up in areas of high need, participants typically have relevant firsthand experience to share. After they build a theoretical foundation to inform their eventual practice, students聽observe, reflect, and finally聽intern at area schools鈥攃losing the loop on a program that binds them deeply to their local communities.
Similarly, a new program in Hawaii, the Teaching and Learning Academy Program, aims to generate a homegrown workforce of teachers to establish more educational continuity at Hawaiian schools. Teacher attrition rates are especially bad in Hawaii, where only about half of the state鈥檚 public school teachers remain teaching after five years.
鈥淭eaching has lost its luster here,鈥� explains Camille Hampton, the program鈥檚 education pathway coordinator, who attributes the sentiment partially to the high cost of living. 鈥淎 lot of students who want to work in communities don鈥檛 know if they see themselves as teachers. They鈥檙e told by counselors they should 鈥榙o something better.鈥� We鈥檙e trying to help them see this as a real career path.鈥�
Participating students typically have backgrounds that are similar to the students they encounter as teachers. At Wai驶anae High School, one of the program sites, nearly 95 percent of students are people of color鈥�60 percent聽of those are Native Hawaiian鈥攁nd roughly 70 percent of all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. A number will be first-generation college students.
These challenges are viewed as assets by program leaders, who believe the program will help fortify a commitment from future teachers to their future students. Along with training in field research, public speaking, sociology, and psychology, the聽curriculum includes courses on Hawaiian cultural heritage and modern politics to deepen students鈥� sense of place. Students who successfully complete the program receive a small monetary bonus or college course credit that can shorten the time it takes to get a teaching certificate.
A Long-Term Solution?
It鈥檚 still uncertain how successful these programs are at increasing the teacher pipeline.
Gamill鈥檚 academy is just 3 years old. Hawaii鈥檚 Teaching and Learning Academy Program won鈥檛 send a new teacher into the workforce for years. Even a venerable program like RWT has no formal tracking system and currently relies on anecdotal evidence, or on teachers who keep in touch with alumni.
According to Carla Smith, her high school has produced three elementary school teachers and one para-educator in the last decade, all of whom work in Renton schools, which represents a meaningful contribution to the local district.
They need fantastic teachers to guide them through the early challenges that could derail their careers before they become really good.
One of those teachers, Alex Castro-Wilson of Benson Hill Elementary, says that his return to the district sends a powerful message to the elementary school children he teaches.
鈥淪tudents love that it could be them [teaching] one day,鈥� says Castro-Wilson, adding that he needed the program for that inspiration himself. 鈥淚 can honestly say that if it wasn鈥檛 for my high school teaching academy, I wouldn鈥檛 be where I am today. I was homeless for two years of my high school career and didn鈥檛 think I was smart enough for college.鈥�
While such testimonials feel convincing, teacher learning academies鈥攚hich continue to grow鈥攃an鈥檛 yet supply quantitative evidence that they鈥檙e expanding the teacher workforce in high-need areas.
And even if teacher academies can get more students into teaching, it is probably not enough to maintain a healthy teacher workforce, says Ellen Moir, the founder and CEO of the New Teacher Center, a 29-year-old organization dedicated to improving the effectiveness of teachers. Moir says that teachers leave the profession when they feel unsupported and frustrated by dwindling resources and scant leadership opportunities. Retaining existing teachers, she believes, is at least as important as inspiring new ones, if not more so.
鈥淭hese programs can help young people see the future, but they are not an antidote to shortages,鈥� says Moir of teacher learning academies. New teachers聽鈥渃an feel prepared when they鈥檙e with a master teacher, but when they get the keys to their own classrooms, they realize they鈥檙e not ready. They need fantastic teachers to guide them through the early challenges that could derail their careers before they become really good.鈥�