By Mallory Dwinal-Palisch, Executive Director of Craft Education, Western Governors University

Work-based learning is the way of the future to connect stranded talent in communities across America to jobs that need to be filled. Apprenticeships can support many industries, and a look into our nation’s K-12 education system provides just one sector where these new learning models can advance our communities. It is estimated that there are 55,000 vacant teaching positions across the nation, and this statistic points a finger at a blaring issue: we need more teachers!

This week is National Apprenticeship Week, and growing work-based learning programs in our schools are helping to fill vacant teaching positions. Each day, within our own communities, paraprofessionals such as student aides, volunteers, school bus drivers, lunch workers, custodians and others passionately support student learning. In doing so, they make our communities stronger and safer, opening the windows of opportunity and understanding for our rising generation. Among these groups, we find future educators who want to finish their degree or earn their license and transition to being full-time teachers. They just need a pathway that helps them keep their job, get paid and earn credits toward their degree or license. These professionals often do not have the time or money to enroll in a traditional university. Work-based apprenticeships are the solution to helping K-12 students across the nation benefit from the mentorship of these would-be enthusiastic and qualified educators.

 

“The purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.” – Sydney J. Harris

 

I can relate

I’m passionate about helping students succeed, whether they reside in urban, suburban or rural communities, in part because I was one of those kids.

Growing up in rural Nebraska, I rode the bus 90 minutes each way to attend the third grade because my local school didn’t have a third-grade class. The school simply didn’t have enough licensed teachers. Ultimately, I did well in school and pursued multiple paths of post-secondary education. While I’m grateful for what I learned and my parents’ tireless sacrifices to support my education, not every student is this fortunate. 

We can—and must—do more. Students in schools like mine in Nebraska need the best teachers. Work-based learning via apprenticeships is the path forward for recognizing the talented paraprofessionals already working in schools within their own communities across America. With apprenticeships, these community stalwarts can pursue their teaching license and degree while still working and getting paid. Apprenticeships offer individualized learning paths with low tuition rates and a recognition of the competencies these people already have gained on the job via workplace credits. The school gets a highly qualified teacher who is deeply committed to the community in which they live. 

Everyone wins. 

 

How does it work?

In essence, teacher apprenticeships are the nexus of where public and private partnerships come together. State and federal programs offer funding for students that, when combined with the generosity of private foundations and the human resources funding of school districts, provide a pathway for apprentices to pursue a highly individualized and quality education for very little cost when compared to traditional higher education. 

The challenges often come in navigating the government programs and aligning the funding sources. This is where Craft, a division of Western Governors University, comes in with a technology platform that synthesizes the resources and simplifies compliance with state and federal requirements. 

Institutions of higher learning represent a key piece of the puzzle, with the capability of providing an individualized pathway of learning that recognizes the competencies developed by paraprofessionals on the job. As the nation’s largest, non-profit online university, WGU has the scale and capacity to move the nation’s apprenticeship programs forward in a meaningful way. Many other institutions are also making a difference, including the University of Tennessee, Reach University, Dallas College, Missouri State and Ivy Tech.

Where is it working now?

As of today, 37 states have rolled out teacher apprenticeship programs. These programs are changing lives, filling the shortage of teachers in rural and non-rural communities, providing income growth opportunities for paraprofessionals and ensuring passionate educators remain where they live. 

Take, for example, Towanna Edwards of Helena, Arkansas. Towanna dreamed of becoming a speech pathologist, but caring for her chronically ill mother became her priority, and she had to withdraw from college multiple times. Towanna became one of the 37 million Americans with some college and no credentials who are left with plenty of debt but not the benefits of a degree. Her story is unique but obviously familiar, pointing to the need for postsecondary options that meet the needs of unique learners where they are. 

Towanna’s life has now changed because of an apprenticeship degree program. As a single parent with no child support, she can now keep her job as an administrative assistant and continue supporting her family while becoming a licensed teacher in her beloved rural community.

Jenna Gros, a cherished and talented leader in her school community, has served in her school system for eighteen years, many of those as a head custodian at Wyandotte Elementary School in St. Mary’s Parrish, Louisiana. 

If Jenna’s circumstances were different, she would undoubtedly have gone to college and become a teacher. That luxury was not a possibility for her, but no one in her building denies her innate gift for teaching and working with students. 

An apprenticeship degree program gives Jenna the opportunity to cultivate her natural teaching talent and continue to earn while she becomes a licensed teacher at her same school.

Apprenticeship degree programs are also helping districts better serve students by providing work-based pathways for individuals like skilled teacher aides who can study and receive on-the-job credit toward their degree and become licensed teachers while making a difference in the classroom. 

One elementary school in Russellville, Arkansas uses the apprenticeship model to provide a staffed teacher aide in all eight of their first and second-grade English learning classes, providing tangible benefits to the teachers and students.

 

What can I do?

You can start by recognizing the educators in your community and letting them know how much you appreciate them. With your influence in your community, you can get to know the issues your local schools face, including staffing licensed educators. Then, you can become a champion for apprenticeship programs where you live. 

As I mentioned earlier, I spent three hours each day traveling to and from school in rural Nebraska. Imagine what you could do with three hours each week dedicated to supporting schools where you live. 

If you are a school administrator, take three hours this week to learn about teaching apprenticeships and how you could participate. If you are an elected official or government worker, take three hours to consider how work-based learning programs can benefit the constituencies that you serve. If you are a private foundation, business or individual with an interest in upleveling education in your communities, take three hours to see how your funding could directly impact the classroom via apprenticeship programs.

Starting this week by taking three hours to learn more about apprenticeships can change individual lives. If we help individuals create new pathways of opportunity via education, we can spark positive change in our communities that will last a lifetime.  

Learn more at Craft.