Special education teacher vacancies are especially difficult to fill, but a recently-approved apprenticeship program may help schools shore up workforce gaps impacting high-needs students.
The special education apprenticeship program was approved by the Department of Labor earlier this month, following a February approval of the K-12 teaching apprenticeship program.
There are some key differences in the State Board of Education programs: Special education apprentices must earn a bachelor’s degree and complete a three-year mentorship program before earning certification and leading a classroom on their own.
Those extra measures are required under federal special education law, according to Kathleen Shoup, manager for the State Board’s educator effectiveness program.
How the K-12 apprenticeship program works
- Over the course of three years, K-12 apprentices work toward earning their certification.
- They take a certain amount of education classes/training at a postsecondary institution, but are not required to earn a degree. They can apply for financial aid through the Department of Labor.
- During that time, apprentices work with mentor teachers. The local district or charter may or may not pay the mentor a stipend.
- The apprentice might take over their own classroom right away, or after a certain period of time spent working alongside their mentor. That decision is left up to the local charter or district.
The special education program will work similarly, except apprentices must earn a bachelor’s degree, and cannot run their own classroom until the three-year mentoring program is completed and certification is earned. For more detailed information about the programs and their differences, go here.
The new programs will give participating districts and charters “the opportunity to engage their best candidates in an ‘earn while you learn’ model of teacher training,” State Board President Linda Clark said in a press release. “Candidates, such as long-time paraprofessionals will be able to work fulltime under the supervision of an experienced certified mentor (teacher) and get paid while they learn.”
Approved by legislators in 2023, the apprenticeship model has been billed as a way to help rural and tribal schools fill teaching vacancies, and to smooth the path to certification for those who have experience working in schools or with children.
“Teacher apprenticeships are one more tool available in Idaho to help address educator shortages and I am excited about the possibilities this program affords for candidates and all students,” Clark said.
Special education is one of the most common areas for teacher shortages, according to a State Board report issued in December. In just the past month, a dozen openings for full-time special education teachers have been posted on EdJobs Idaho.
Idaho’s comparatively low teacher salaries, low retention rate among new teachers, and aging teacher population contribute to educator shortages, the report found.
“A shift in teacher preparation:” The state’s first apprentices will be in classrooms this fall
Districts and charters will have to apply to participate in the special education teacher apprenticeship program, Shoup said. None have done so yet, but State Board officials will be sharing more information about the program with administrators at an upcoming conference in August.
So far, five school districts and one charter have been approved to participate in the K-12 apprenticeship program, including:
- Castleford School District
- Hagerman School District
- Hansen School District
- Heritage Academy Charter School
- Lake Pend Oreille School District
- Middleton School District
Of those, three districts have hired, or are in the process of hiring, a combined four apprentices.
One of those is Castleford, a rural district outside of Twin Falls that serves about 300 students.
With an incoming third-grade class of nearly 30 students — larger than most grade-level cohorts — Castleford leaders decided to break the class into two sections. One will be taught by a newly-hired apprentice: an “outstanding” paraprofessional who’s been with the district for seven years, according to Chuck Day, the principal at Castleford.
“This is helping us and helping her at the same time,” he said. “We can grow our own, save the district a little money, and get someone that’s going to be here long term.”
Shoup said that is one advantage of the program: Rural districts can draw on local talent that’s already embedded in the community and more likely to stay around.
Angie Lakey-Campbell, superintendent of Hansen School District, said they have not yet hired an apprentice, but might in the future.
“We have paraprofessionals who we think would make great teachers,” she said. “They can’t really afford to not work and go back to school, so we’re looking at the possibility of helping them get a teaching certificate.”
One obstacle has been finding a mentor teacher who is willing to train an apprentice, who would work alongside them.
“Our teachers are pretty busy right now, so convincing someone to take this on when we have very little money to pay them for their time is a challenge,” she said.
Shoup said the State Board is planning to unveil online mentorship access and resources this fall to better support districts like Hansen. That’s one of several programs in the works that would support participating districts and charters, including an online professional development hub.
The State Board is also developing a quality assurance program to ensure apprenticeship programs, which have come under scrutiny, are best serving students, teacher candidates, and schools.
The programs are a “shift in teacher preparation,” Shoup said, but they still have rigor. “There’s an increased opportunity for teacher apprentices to learn what teaching looks like, feels like … that wouldn’t necessarily be experienced in a shorter semester student teaching term.”
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