In face of shortage schools work to grow their own teachers

Pewaukee High School seniors Ryan Stoffield and Tori Johnson don't really see themselves as school teachers. They both envision careers in business.

But you never know.

The two are among about 18 students who have signed up for the school's new Pathways to Teaching strand, a collection of courses and experiences designed to expose juniors and seniors to careers in education.

Not everyone who signs up will end up in a classroom. But the hope is that some, with a little exposure and the right mentors, might re-think their career goals.

“If you surveyed most teachers, very few started as education majors,” said Danielle Bosanec, assistant director of curriculum and instruction for the Pewaukee School District, who helped design of the program.

“Part of putting together a program like this is to give them that early exposure, open the door and have them consider that as a career option that maybe they hadn’t before.”

The Pewaukee program, which launches in a few weeks, is one of a number of initiatives under way at schools and districts around southeastern Wisconsin aimed at bolstering the thinning ranks of prospective teachers.

While there is extensive debate about looming teacher shortages — they tend to be geographic and subject-specific, most experts say — it is clear that the number of teachers in southeastern Wisconsin has declined, and fewer students are enrolling in teacher training programs in hopes of filling their shoes.

According to a 2016 report by the non-partisan Public Policy Forum,  the number of teachers in the region have decreased by nearly 5% since the 2009-'10 school year, and enrollments in teacher preparation programs across the state have fallen nearly 28% since the 2008-'09 school year.

Over time, the declines have made it difficult for some districts to recruit teachers, particularly in harder-to-fill subject areas such as special education and technical education.

“It’s always a challenge,” said Dan Chanen, chief human resources officer for Milwaukee Public Schools, which this year launched MPS University to help existing teachers earn secondary licenses in reading and special ed.

Bosanec, of Pewaukee, said they've been fortunate to continue to attract strong applicants for most positions.

“But it’s harder at the secondary level," she said. "And every year we see the pools get smaller.”

That can be particularly challenging in small private schools where the pay is often lower — and particularly for those in the central city where there may be, as one principal put it, "some ZIP code bias."

The state Department of Public Instruction, which has authorized a number of alternative licensing programs, adopted emergency rules last year that eased some requirements for existing teachers and short-term subs, all with the idea of keeping them in the classroom. And it's now taking steps to make those permanent.

But a number of schools also are moving ahead to, essentially, grow their own teacher talent.

A coalition of public and private schools, including the Menomonee Falls School District, Seton Catholic Schools and others, is proposing a program that would allow unlicensed teachers with bachelor's degrees — as well as aides with associate's degrees or little or no post-secondary education — to obtain their state licenses while working in the classroom. (Private school teachers are not required by law to be licensed.)

The group sent out a request for proposals in December to a selection of universities and colleges, and others that operate alternative licensing programs. It invites them to design a program that would offer courses at the participating schools, in some cases with the schools' own employees as adjunct faculty, and allow students to meet their clinical and practicum obligations on the job. Proposals are due by Jan. 20.

Bill Hughes, chief academic officer for Seton Catholic Schools, a network of elementary schools taking part in the Milwaukee Parental Choice voucher program, said the plan also would boost diversity in the teaching ranks at a time when nearly 50% of metro-Milwaukee K-12 students are students of color.

"All seven (of the school) organizations have experienced and committed educators working as education assistants that have the desire to become certified teachers," Hughes said. Many, he said, "have had financial or family barriers that have limited their ability to earn their degree and get their license."

Hughes said he has reached out to lawmakers and Gov. Scott Walker's office in hopes of persuading them to allow workforce development funds to be used for teacher training.

"If you can do it for welding, why not teaching?"

From para to teacher

Milwaukee Public Schools, which already has a program to help employees with college degrees earn their emergency licenses while working, is now in talks with Milwaukee Area Technical College and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee about a new program for teacher aides who don't hold an undergraduate degree.

"We have a lot of strong talent in our para pool, and we want to find ways to assist them to complete their degrees," said Chanan, the personnel director.

Some schools are offering scholarships as incentives for students to consider teaching as a career. The Elmbrook Education Foundation hopes to raise $1 million over the next few years for scholarships for students who go on to study education, in hopes of luring them back to the district. Students who attend one of the schools in a local consortium aimed at closing achievement gaps are eligible for an $8,000 scholarship to Concordia University if they study education there, said Elliott Moeser, who oversees the consortium.

In addition to the scholarships, the Elmbrook School District is preparing to launch its Future Teachers program next fall. Like Pewaukee's Pathways to Teaching, it will offer juniors and seniors college-level education courses, pair them with an educator-mentor and give them real-world experience in the classroom. The credits would be transferable to most universities.

Pewaukee is working with the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater to deliver its education courses. And Elmbrook is still in talks with universities, including UW-Milwaukee, Marquette and Carroll, Assistant Superintendent Dana Monogue said.

"We're building networks with our higher education partners so our students can really see the path that's before them, Monogue said.

Stoffield and Johnson, the Pewaukee seniors, took the school's Global Business strand last year. They signed up for the Pathways to Teaching program, mostly for the mentoring, networking and leadership opportunities. Plus, they both realized that the ability to teach — to explain yourself to others, articulate complex ideas — would be transferable to virtually any career they choose.

"It will be an important asset down the road," said Stoffield, who is being mentored by Assistant Superintendent and Chief Financial Officer John Gahan. "Maybe I won't be a teacher, but maybe I'll do something in an administrative role."

Then again, if he and Johnson changed their minds and decided to become teachers?

"Tori and Ryan are very talented ... and will be wonderful leaders in whatever career they choose," Bosanec said.

"If they choose teaching there will be many future students who will benefit greatly."

An earlier version of this story misspelled Dan Chanen's name and misstated his title.