The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) approved the first nationally registered K-12 teacher apprenticeship program in January 2022, opening the door to a rapidly growing pathway for prospective teachers. DOL has now approved registered teacher apprenticeships in more than 30 states. Kentucky's first program is registered through the Kentucky Career…

Research on Teachers of Color and Indigenous Teachers (TOCIT) has gained traction in recent years in educational scholarship. Yet very few studies have evaluated teacher education programs that prepare TOCIT within the U.S. context or have focused on the promising pedagogical practices used to prepare TOCIT. The challenge of doing program…

Violet Jiménez Sims, Kerry Lord, Marlene Megos, and Ushawnda Mitchell describe a new approach to addressing the gap between the racial diversity of teachers and students in U.S. public schools. The Connecticut Teacher Residency program (CT-TRP) is a grow-your-own approach to teacher training, certification, and retention that combines an academic…

Purpose: This paper describes the rationale and key aspects of how one school-university partnership leveraged resources to create, implement and refine an innovative professional pathway called the Early Childhood Certificate (ECC) program which reflects the National Professional Development Schools (NAPDS) Essential Guideline 4: Reflection and…

Colorado's rural communities face challenges recruiting and retaining qualified teachers, leaders, and special service providers. The Colorado Center for Rural Education (CCRE) has created and implemented a comprehensive system for professional development of effective educators for rural school districts. The CCRE has expanded educator pathway…

In a recent landscape of policies in 50 states and the District of Columbia, I found that states vary significantly in how they authorize, review, and approve teacher preparation providers and programs. What these policies have in common is a requirement that all programs meet the same standards. But in practice, they do not. Too often,…

AB 471 requires that the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing report to the Governor and the Legislature each year on the number of teachers who received credentials, certificates, permits and waivers. This report provides data collected by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (Commission) and addresses several questions…

In response to the growing demand for special education teachers, St. Vrain Valley Schools district established the Special Education Alternative Licensure Cohort in 2019. This article discusses this induction and mentorship program, tailored specifically to support new alternative and temporary license special education teachers. The program has…

Created by partnerships of educator preparation programs, school districts, and community-based organizations, grow-your-own programs recruit, prepare, and place community members as teachers. They typically recruit and prepare high school students, school classified staff (e.g., paraeducators, afterschool workers, bus drivers), career changers,…

Research has shown that students of color benefit from having teachers who share their racial background. The paraprofessionals and education assistants currently working in schools represent one potential source of such teachers. Many of them are committed to schools and students but need support to obtain a teaching license. Laura Delgado,…

Co-teaching is recognized as a best practice that is increasingly being utilized to meet the needs of diverse learners in the classroom. All teachers need to be prepared to meet the needs of diverse learners, including students with disabilities. However, few teacher preparation programs lead to dual certification in general and special education,…

The Marian Promise combined residency and induction program supports the effectiveness and retention of new teachers in Indiana's Perry Township Schools, MSD of Decatur Township, and Beech Grove City Schools. It does so by integrating the use of research-based teaching standards in coursework and clinical practice, selecting high-quality mentor…

This Data Point examines the prevalence of public school teachers who did not hold a teaching certificate or held only provisional or emergency teaching certificates in the state where they were teaching, as opposed to regular, standard, advanced, or probationary certificates. It looks at the prevalence over time, by selected teacher and school…

Purpose: District-university partners increasingly rely on "grow-your-own" licensure programs to address teacher shortages. Because vacancies in special education represent a chronic issue, our district-university partnership developed LEAP -- the Licensed Educators' Accelerated Pathway, successfully preparing 26 paraprofessionals as…

In 2020, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) created emergency licensure to help address teacher vacancies and shortages in Massachusetts districts and schools. Alternatively licensed novice teachers like those who are issued emergency licensure or provisional licensure are entering the classroom with limited…