The Dallas College School of Education is addressing the shortage of teachers through its Teacher Residency Apprenticeship Program. The program launched last year and received $1 million in federal funding earlier this year through the government’s Community Funding Project package.
The program is the first of its kind in Texas and is 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 has partnered 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.
Richardson ISD was the first school district to partner with Dallas College. Under the apprenticeship, Dallas College students enrolled in the bachelor’s degree in teaching program typically earn $30,000 to work in classrooms three days per week and tutor or serve as a substitute one day per week. They participate in weekly cohort meetings and receive deep coaching from Dallas College faculty. At scale, the apprenticeship program will look to serve 200 future educators in partnering school districts across Dallas County.
For more information about registering for the Dallas College Bachelor’s Degree in Education, visit www.dallascollege.edu/cd/schools/education/pages/bachelors.aspx or e-mail the School of Education at SOEAdvising@DallasCollege.edu.
