“This apprenticeship program will provide aspiring educators with a seamless bridge to train in a school district and then land a job in that same district,” said Dallas College Vice Provost of Education Robert DeHaas.
Contact: Liz Scruggs;
MScruggs@DallasCollege.edu
(DALLAS) — The first paid teacher residency apprenticeships in Texas will be offered soon by Dallas College, as part of a program aimed at building a steady pipeline of well-trained teachers and putting those teachers in more classrooms across the state, sooner rather than later.
Staffing and teacher shortages in schools across the nation, which only worsened during the pandemic, have left Texas schools facing an immediate challenge in recruiting teachers for hard-to-fill positions. Dallas College’s School of Education is making a concerted effort with local school districts to strengthen the teacher pipeline by modeling a hands-on training program similar to what has been successfully employed in other professions, such as fast-track apprenticeships in health care. This paid apprenticeship model gives trainees a chance to gain real-world experience and earn a salary with a partner organization while earning a degree or a credential.
“The apprenticeships will help fill short-term workforce needs of partner school systems while providing a rich, career-embedded learning opportunity for Dallas College students, resulting in a living-wage job,” said Dallas College Dean of Educator Pathways Sara DeLano. “We are thrilled to launch this program with two local school partners and would love to expand it to school systems across the region. The apprenticeship program removes financial barriers and supports school systems in growing their own pipeline of talented educators.”
Richardson Independent School District (RISD) is the first to join Dallas College in the apprenticeship program, and Uplift Education expects to join in the partnership this spring to host students currently enrolled in Dallas College’s bachelor’s degree in teaching program and place them at schools most in need of additional teaching staff. Students in the first cohorts in fall 2022 will earn $30,000 each in year-long residencies. These students will serve as residents three days per week in classrooms and will then either tutor or serve as a substitute one day per week. At scale, the apprenticeship program will look to serve 200 future educators in partnering school districts across Dallas County.
The residency is also structured as a cohort model that allows students to participate in once-a-week cohort meetings and also to receive deep coaching from Dallas College faculty members.
“This innovative program offers a win-win for Dallas College students and school districts,” said Tabitha Branum, RISD’s interim superintendent. “The [Dallas College] School of Education will graduate students who will not be deeply in debt, so when they become teachers, they won’t have to find ways to pay off that debt. The immediate opportunity for Richardson ISD is that we will be able to host and hire students who have spent a year preparing and honing their craft. We think an apprenticeship year increases the likelihood that they will become excellent long-term educators in our district.”
Uplift Education anticipates joining as an official partner in the apprenticeship program later this month. “Uplift is incredibly excited to join with Dallas College in this apprenticeship opportunity and expand our ‘grow your own’ teacher pipelines to ensure more teachers have extensive on-the-job experience before taking over their own classrooms," said Anne Erickson, Uplift Education’s chief people officer. “This apprenticeship is also a financially attractive avenue for the 360 Uplift alumni who currently attend Dallas College and are interested in teaching to return to Uplift and start a career as a classroom teacher.”
Dallas College will hold a signing ceremony with the first two partner school systems later this spring.
Earlier this year, Dallas College received approval from the U.S. Department of Labor to serve as Texas’ first registered apprenticeship sponsor for teaching. During the inaugural year, Dallas College will use approximately $150,000 in apprenticeship dollars from the Department of Labor grant to cover students’ tuition. Dallas College will also seek funding through the Department’s $113 million “Apprenticeship Building America” program to support and expand teaching apprenticeships.
The Texas Education Agency estimates that in the next decade, Texas will continue to experience high demand for certified schoolteachers to fill positions across the state. Demand is particularly high in disciplines that currently have an inadequate supply of schoolteachers. Dallas College is the first in Texas to have its program recognized by the Department of Labor as a registered teaching apprenticeship.
“School districts across Texas already rely on Dallas College and other institutions of higher education to meet their hiring needs, but this apprenticeship program will provide aspiring educators with a seamless bridge to train in a school district and then land a job in that same district,” said Dallas College Vice Provost of Education Robert DeHaas. “The apprenticeships will be an important and unique way that our School of Education continues to work closely with our local school district partners to meet their critical educator workforce needs.”
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About Dallas College
Dallas College, formerly the Dallas County Community College District, was founded in 1965 and consists of seven campuses: Brookhaven, Cedar Valley, Eastfield, El Centro, Mountain View, North Lake and Richland. Dallas College offers online learning and serves more than 125,000 credit and continuing education students during the fall and spring semesters. Dallas College also offers dual credit for students in partner high schools and early college high schools throughout Dallas County. Students benefit from partnerships with local business leaders, school districts and four-year universities, and Dallas College offers associate degree and career/technical certificate programs in more than 100 areas of study, as well as a bachelor’s degree in education. Based on annual enrollment, it is the largest community college in Texas.
About Richardson Independent School District
Richardson ISD has been a leading school district in Texas since it was established in 1854. Covering more than 43 square miles, its 54 schools span portions of the cities of Richardson, Dallas and Garland. A tradition of excellence, high parent expectations and exceptional community support have all contributed to the district’s consistent academic success. Serving more than 37,000 students, RISD’s vision is to be a place where all students can connect, learn, grow and succeed.
About Uplift Education
Uplift Education is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to changing the lives of teachers, families and, most importantly, students. With a network of 45 college-preparatory, public charter schools in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Uplift offers students of any background the powerful chance to study within a multidisciplinary curriculum and prepare for the college career they deserve. Uplift is the largest International Baccalaureate district in Texas and the No. 2 IB district in the nation because of the number of holistic extracurricular and educational programs. The incredible educators in the Uplift network guide and teach over 22,000 students in Pre-K- 12th grades, with the majority being low-income and minority students who will be the first in their family to attend college. For more information, Uplift’s mission and their blind lottery selection system, visit uplifteducation.org.