FINCH ELEMENTARY PROFESSIONAL

Banner/The Seattle TimesĪ 2021 report from the state’s Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB) found that schools were forced to lean on individuals who had not completed certification requirements to fill the gaps, and waivers had risen to 8,080 in the 2019-20 school year from less than 2,800 a decade prior. Teacher Fatima Nunez Ardon, pictured here, is studying at Highline College, a community college, for her degree. The idea is to diversify the teacher workforce (community colleges serve more Black and Hispanic students), and train up more teachers. Having teachers do their coursework at a community college is relatively new and Washington is one of only a handful of states that allows it. In 2018, 57,000 fewer students nationwide earned education degrees than in 2011. For years, the number of people graduating from teacher education programs has fallen short of teacher demand. It’s likely she wouldn’t have pursued a classroom career otherwise. In all, 51 community college-based K-12 teaching programs have launched across the country since the early 2000s.Īnd they’re attracting students like Nuñez Ardon, who became certified to run a K-8 classroom in June, at the age of 36. More community colleges around the country are starting to offer teacher education, said CCBA President Angela Kersenbrock. Related: Teacher shortages are real, but not for the reason you heard

And many educators fear the pandemic worsened the crisis. A report in March from the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education showed that the number of people completing a teacher-education program declined by almost a third between the 2008-19 academic years. The expansion comes at a good time: Teacher shortages have worsened in the past decade, and fewer undergraduates are going into teacher training programs. (Two other states, Texas and Wyoming, offer early childhood education degrees.) Nationally, Community College Baccalaureate Association data indicates just six other states - Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Nevada and New Mexico - offer baccalaureate degrees related to K-12 education. In Washington, nine community colleges offer education degrees. They can dramatically cut the cost and raise the convenience of earning a teaching degree, while making a job in education accessible to a wider diversity of people. Community college-based teaching programs like this are rare, but growing.

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