MLFTC collaborates with school districts to attract and retain teachers

A persistent need to attract and retain quality teachers is driving some school districts to create professional pathways for people who work in schools, or who are new to the profession. Doing so entails a greater need for planning, program management and professional development.

To address these needs quickly and effectively, some school districts are collaborating with colleges of education, such as Arizona State University’s Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College. Mesa Public Schools’ Path2Teach program, for example, offers a way for teachers who are employed by the district — and who  already have a bachelor’s degree in an area other than  in teaching — to earn a master’s degree in education with teacher certification, or a stand-alone teacher certification. Wendy Oakes, associate director of graduate pathways, Division of Teacher Preparation at MLFTC, explains why such partnerships benefit both students and districts.

What are the benefits of school district partnerships for these kinds of programs? 

Such partnerships make it more possible for districts to quickly develop programs tailored to their specific school and community needs. For example, a district seeking more special education teachers may not have the immediate internal capabilities or resources  required to provide the professional learning plan or to design curricula. MLFTC is able to partner with districts and provide teacher preparation curricula, resources and faculty expertise. 

Districts continue to plan strategies for the  retention of teachers, a national concern identified in research. MLFTC, which is recognized as having one of the nation’s leading graduate education programs, understands these challenges and can work closely with districts to develop a program that is tailored specifically to their context. Districts decide how much and in what ways they participate in the partnerships and student supports.  Through the resources offered by MLFTC, we can work with districts to support teachers who are earning their teacher certification and degree while working as teachers of record full time. This approach makes it more feasible for districts to build and scale their efforts.

How does this work in practice?

The approach is different for each district, and that is why we see this as a true partnership. Through the Mesa Public Schools partnership, we recently welcomed more than two dozen students in the first cohort. 

In this case, MLFTC faculty map out learning experiences in collaboration with district instructional coaches  that align with the classroom teaching that is taking place daily. The cohort classes are held during school hours on site in the district  during release time provided by the district. MLFTC faculty are facilitating the connections between district professional learning, teachers’ classroom experiences, and the ASU teacher preparation curriculum. Faculty are also providing timely feedback,  assessing student learning and familiarizing students with the research and pedagogy to be  effective teachers.

 At the same time, students are actively applying these approaches into their classrooms. The program is structured to combine theoretical with practice-based learning so that candidates earn credit for submitting classroom-based evidence of mastering program learning objectives as they work. In the case of Mesa Public Schools, MLFTC faculty work closely with instructional coaches who are employees of the district to develop learning experiences for the cohort and to track student progress. MLFTC is also partnering with Paradise Valley Unified School District through its PV Aspire program, with their first cohort of special education teachers, so our special education faculty bring their expertise and experience as partners in that program in a way that is customized to that district’s needs. 

What is an example of how these programs combine theoretical with practice-based learning? 

We look for ways to connect learning outcomes with what students are doing in the classroom. For example, a teacher may want to get ready for an IEP (Individualized Education Program) meeting and is not yet familiar with the terminology. The research they do in advance of that meeting is connected to the course learning outcome  for understanding IEP development and special education terminology. A lesson on classroom design becomes an opportunity  for our students to evaluate how they designed their own classes and to critique themselves using the theoretical approaches in a practice-based context. (These examples come from MLFTC faculty involved in this initiative, such as Kelly Deits Cutler, Laura Corr, Tera McDonald, and Anne Smith).

 What kind of background do the students have?

These kinds of programs are popular among educators in non-certified roles and among career changers. For example, these candidates may be people who are moving into teaching roles after working as administrative staff and substitute teachers. Others have rejoined the workforce after starting a family, or maybe they decided to take a different direction in their careers. One of the current students, for example, was working in the area of speech pathology. Through the program, they are employed as an elementary or special education teacher (under Arizona’s state’s laws, teachers can teach in public schools while they are enrolled to earn their degree).

How does this help sustain school districts’ longer term goals?

Districts are committed to addressing educator retention concerns. They also want to  support workplace satisfaction and professional development for those who are connected to the schools and communities in which they work. Whether it is rethinking the “one-teacher-one-class” model, creating pathways for paraprofessionals to enter the classroom, or preparing teachers through alternative certification routes, we also see a demand for personalized and deeper learning.  

MLFTC’s curriculum and  faculty  can be resources for districts to help sustain their workforce goals as  we are doing through the Next Education Workforce initiative. MLFTC looks forward to collaborating with districts toward these common goals. We see ourselves as partners in supporting and growing a dynamic education workforce.