Beginners guide to Educator Registered Apprenticeships…
If you’re here wondering what an Educator Registered Apprenticeship (ERA) is, you’re not alone—it’s a newer concept. Even with over a decade of experience in education, I found ERAs to be a bit tricky to grasp. Yet, I have to say, that makes them so exciting—they represent a fresh approach to teacher preparation, both in NYS and across the nation.
Imagine if teaching and a superhero training camp had a baby—that’s kind of what an educator apprenticeship is like. We’re here to unpack all the quirky details of educator apprenticeships and show you how they’re shaking up how teachers are prepared.
With the educator workforce shortage on the rise as districts struggle to attract and retain teachers, Educator Apprenticeships have quickly gained traction nationwide, with 37 states and counting adopting new programs over the past two years. But how did we get here? What exactly is a Registered Educator Apprenticeship? How does it shake up traditional pathways to becoming a teacher? Are apprenticeships the key to greater access and equity into teaching? And what’s with all the acronyms?
We’ll dive into these questions and more in our weekly blog series, “Learning Curve,” and we’d love for you to join us on this journey.
So buckle up and subscribe—this is going to be one wild, educational ride!
An Apprenticeship Pathway to School Administrator? Yes!!
School Administrator (Building Leader) is the latest title approved by the New York State Department of Labor, completing a full educator apprenticeship career ladder from Teacher Assistant to Teacher to School Administrator.
There are many reasons school districts should jump on this Apprenticeship opportunity for new leaders:
More clinically robust pathway, solving problems of practice in the placement through the application of coursework and collaboration,
Full-time employment in the leadership role for a full year,
Tuition support ($6,000) for SUNY SBL Certificate Programs,
Broader access for a grow-your-own path or outside potential.
As with previous titles, the School Administrator Apprenticeship brings research-proven value in educator preparation: new hire retention, accessibility and positive impacts on students and schools. Equally important are the financial resources for Registered Apprentices through SUNY Apprenticeship tuition assistance, and NYS Department of Labor Apprenticeship Expansion Grant monies which, when available, can offset private college/university tuition.
Technical assistance through the NYS Educator Workforce Development HUB (HUB) and NYS Dept of Labor is available to help Register a School Administrator Apprenticeship Program. The registration process is manageable and timely. Let’s talk about how the HUB can help develop a RAP for future school building leaders, teachers, or teacher assistants to meet your educator workforce challenges.
“Grow your own” programs are an increasingly important way to retain educators, particularly during staffing shortages.
In 2022, Questar III BOCES and the School of Education at the University at Albany, SUNY, initiated a new partnership to support teaching assistants and career and technical education (CTE) professionals interested in advancing their careers or becoming certified teachers.
The Foundations of Teaching and Learning (FTL) program has been a great success for the Questar III BOCES and staff. To date, five courses have been offered, which the BOCES has supported at no cost to staff. This fall, the first FTL cohort of 16 participants will complete their sixth and final course.
As part of the program, staff complete six college courses in two three-course series of stackable courses. The curriculum includes Introduction to Educational Psychology, Introduction to Human Exceptionality, Introduction to Curriculum and Instruction, Managing Classrooms and Behavior in the School Setting, Introduction to Assessment and Measurement, and Adolescent Literacy.
Given the impact of this program, a second cohort was supported to develop and certify teachers and teaching assistants. Questar III is grateful to the teaching assistants and CTE teachers investing their time to improve their craft and further their professional growth – a key element of the organization’s framework for success.
Listening to Voices from the Field: a teaching assistant who became a cosmetology teacher and a trade professional working towards becoming a certified CTE teacher. Both using stackable coursework through the Questar III partnership with the University at Albany.
This program was made possible by Questar III BOCES and AATLAS, School of Education, University at Albany.
Unless you are a baby with a wet diaper, change doesn’t feel so good; especially when it is pushed, or worse yet, forced from the top down.
Just ask any educator who lived through A Nation at Risk, No Child Left Behind, or Race to the Top. Let’s face it, most people like things just the way they are. “That’s the way we do things around here” is comfortable, settling, and so status quo; particularly following the terribly disruptive and deadly Covid-19 pandemic from which we have just emerged. Yup, status quo can seem like a warm and welcome friend; simply close your classroom or office door as “this too shall pass”. That is until a seismic disruption, such as today’s teacher workforce crisis, upends everything.
The very best educators and school leaders know problems and crises, like the teacher workforce issue, rarely pop up without warning or go away on their own. Experience shows the most impactful solutions usually start at ground level with those dealing directly with the issue, and are the products of creativity, due diligence, strength and courage. Such systemic change efforts in education necessitate strong, trusting partnerships; major reforms such as redefining teacher preparation with residency programs require those across P-20. Residency programs have proven their muster in the field with increased student learning, greater teacher retention, and more workforce diversity. Weaving together agencies like the state education department and department of labor, to combine residencies with paid Apprenticeships boosts those positive outcomes manifold.
In New York, right now, the big challenge to combining and leveraging this pathway is finding higher ed partners with NY State Ed Dept-approved residency programs-districts can not offer highly affordable, paid residency experiences through Apprenticeships without such programs. Of the 91 Educator Preparation Programs, only ten presently have successfully completed the process to register an NYSED-approved residency program. Most often the challenge is facing the element of change: asking faculty to shift their thinking about partnerships, program delivery, clinical experiences, and curriculum alignment, not to mention simply finding the time to complete NYSED paperwork.
Districts and their higher ed partners want what’s best for students and communities, and the faculty and leaders that comprise the P-20 continuum are passionate, dedicated professionals who chose education to serve students and their communities. These educators work in a system which regularly faces change, an omnipresent force that reflects the dynamic society we inhabit. With that reality, educators might appreciate a few of Michael Fullan’s Change Forces:
“Change is a journey not a blueprint (Change is non-linear, loaded with uncertainty and excitement and sometimes perverse);
“Problems are our friends (Problems are inevitable and you can’t learn without them)”; and
“Every person is a change agent (Change is too important to leave to the experts, personal mindset and mastery is the ultimate protection)”.
Change is complicated, hard, and messy. Yet, the innovations on the other side of the change process warrant, and deserve, the effort.
After all, who can argue with a few additional hands on deck in any classroom? Who doesn’t want a more diverse, stable teacher workforce? And who doesn’t want classroom-ready new teachers with the confidence and efficacy to remain in teaching because of their residency Apprenticeship experiences? We all want what is best for students , which is why change in teacher preparation can and will succeed.
Fullan, M. (1993). Change forces: Probing the depth of educational reform. London: Falmer Press.
We get it. These are dark times in education. The teacher workforce crisis has created a palpable sense of dread for school leaders, many of whom are scrambling to shore up faculty numbers.
The pool of candidates is bone dry, and though certified teachers are strongly preferred, anyone with an associate’s or bachelor’s degree and a willingness to work with children will do. Filling vacancies has become a stop gap, mad dash measure to find and put adults in front of kids. Yet, sink or swim, what happens to most of those new hires?
Unfortunately, research shows early-career teachers often don’t professionally survive as evidenced by attrition rates of up to 50% in the first five years. These high rates of staffing turnover result in a cycle of churn and discontinuity for districts. The swirling further erodes workforce stability, hurting school communities and straining financial resources with hiring and onboarding new teachers costing from $9,000 to $20,000 per position.
This whirlpool effect in conjunction with falling educator preparation program enrollments, declines in status of the profession, pandemic driven retirements, and low new teacher retention rates (as compared with residency based preparation) has contributed to the teacher shortage crisis. Unfortunately, filling classrooms with uncertified or poorly prepared teachers is likely to continue, possibly expanding the workforce vortex that unmercifully swallows its victims. It will take time to undo years of damage, but data from teacher preparation programs based on residencies reveal there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Ample research shows residency programs work. A 2019/20 National Center for Teacher Residencies principal and teacher perception survey found residency graduates are rated more effective by principals than those in traditional programs. Residents are also highly valued by mentors with 93% feeling residents are prepared to be teachers of record. If residencies are the ray of light, Registered Apprenticeship Programs (RAPs) are a beacon, shining brightly to lead the way.
RAPs with their associated funds and historical precedence, complement residency programs by providing a funding model that:
pays wages to teacher candidates,
recognizes the important work experienced teachers do to guide those candidates, and
ensures sustainability while broadening accessibility to teaching.
New York, and the nation, may be grappling with a serious teacher shortage, but the innovators and disruptors have shown there are solutions through residencies and RAPs. Solutions that, in the long run, will keep our schools afloat, and off the vortex bottom. RAPs provide schools with classroom-ready, confident teachers who will remain in education much, much longer than those entering the profession without the requisite knowledge and skills for success. Indeed, brighter days and smoother sailing are ahead for those willing to put in the due diligence and Register Apprenticeship Programs.
When was the last time you heard the term “Journeyworker”, or for that matter, “Apprentice”, in conversation?
Likely never if you work in the field of education where the more familiar terms for teacher pathways are “student teaching”, “cooperating teacher”, “field experience”, “state certification” and “tenure”–usually, in that order. Yet the trades and technical fields use the terms “journeyworker” and “apprentice” ubiquitously to define the important and highly esteemed multi-yeared progression from unskilled novice to expert, qualified worker. It is a required rite of passage Apprentices take to earn the qualifications/certifications commensurate with high level work and well paying titles. My appreciation for the Apprenticeship model, starkly different from traditional teacher preparation, increased over a recent breakfast conversation with a newly-retired friend and tradesman.
Catching up over our second cup of coffee, the discussion turned to my current work around registering Apprenticeship programs for educators. My friend leaned in when I asked, “Dave, you’re familiar with the terms, Journeyworker and Apprentice, right?” With passion, Dave said, “Steve. That’s part of my job. I am a journeyworker, and I’ve guided Apprentices for decades. There is no better training model”. I reciprocated this passion as I described the important and exciting work of the HUB team (of which I am a member). Our goal is to transform teacher preparation and the teaching profession into one that places a new and high value on the guided hands-on experience and application of college coursework in partnership with an experienced and successful teacher. A journey that lasts one or two full school years, immersing the candidate Apprentice in the school community and providing, through extended time, the 360 degree view of teaching necessary for long term success.
Back to crosswords, I often run across an unfamiliar word or two in puzzles that I really should know. Journeyworker is one such term. Call it a gap in knowledge, but up until working with the NYS Educator Workforce Development Hub, I didn’t fully realize the value Apprenticeships could offer the field of education. Under the Registered Apprenticeship Program model, and for the first time, the value of the experienced teacher (Journeyworker) working shoulder to shoulder with a teacher candidate (Apprentice) all day, every day across the school year is finally recognized. Apprenticeships are a centuries old model, so I am puzzled, what’s taken us so long? Journeyworker is one word, and it fits!
At the Spring 2023 US Dept of Labor Eastern Seaboard Apprenticeship Conference, the question was asked, “if you could wave a magic wand and fix or add anything to the residency Apprenticeship model, what would it be?”
Great question.
My mind immediately reflected on the legendary Ron Thorpe, late President and CEO of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards who wrote, Sustaining the Teaching Profession. Dr. Thorpe’s seminal paper highlighted the important parallels to the successful medical residency model, about which he commented, “Since that time [WW II], most physicians move into residencies,…..These are intense phases of training during which new physicians see the breadth and depth of situations presented by patients. It is a time when the knowledge and skills learned in medical school become anchored in practice, but under the close supervision of experienced physicians (…) The medical profession has developed in (…) ways that can inform the development of the teaching profession ” [emphasis added].
We all know (and are relieved) that medical students spend several years applying their academic learning as residents in hospital settings under the guidance of Attending Doctors. The resident’s work is long and hard, but wages are provided which allows residents to focus on their studies and skills, rather than the financial costs of their career pathway. Medical residents are paid without question.
Here’s the best part: Do you know who covers their cost of employment?
Another great question. Hint: It’s not the hospitals.
Residents are paid through U.S. taxpayer dollars as the cost was long ago embedded in the federal government healthcare arm, Medicare and Medicaid. And why should taxpayers via Medicare and Medicaid assume this fiscal responsibility? Because health care and well-trained doctors matters; a lot! And we can say the same about education and teachers, whose impact grows each and everyday!
Now, back to that magic wand. With newfound powers, we’d leverage a teacher preparation model (residencies) that follows the medical residency pathway and embeds the funding in a broad-based federal model. This would allow teacher candidates to be paid a live-able wage in residencies as Apprentices, while applying academic coursework over at least one full academic year in the workplace; all under the watchful eye of accomplished practitioners. Surely our children deserve a teacher preparation model that promises to produce the best new educators this great country can provide; educators who will contribute to a sustained, competent, skilled teacher workforce. It will take a lot of conversations and work. “Abracadabra”, let’s begin!
Residency programs are like delicious, homemade chocolate cakes. They use the best ingredients and require much more time to plan, prepare and bake as compared to traditional teacher preparation programs. Research is clear, residencies reward the profession with well-prepared, confident, classroom-ready teachers. And, like cake, residencies offer the foundational layers on which to build high quality Apprenticeship programs (which offer the icing, so to speak). Layering an Apprenticeship onto a residency provides distinct advantages over residencies alone.
Comparing residencies with Apprenticeships, the base ingredients are identical in all aspects save one: the icing.
Both programs require:
enrollment in IHE Educator Preparation Programs with NYSED-approved Registered Residency Programs;
a one year or longer extended clinical experience under the watchful eye of both an accomplished School-Based Teacher Educator and University-Based Teacher Educator; and
strong P-20 collaboration around curriculum alignment, assessment, supervision, and support.
So what more to add? How does the icing of Apprenticeship programs add to residencies?
Before tasting, it’s important to understand that residencies can operate on their own, without Apprenticeships, much like eating cake without icing. Yet Apprenticeships, as the icing, can’t take shape without the solid cake of residencies holding them up.
Registered Apprenticeship Programs add value to residencies as they require employment wages to the candidate, a little more time with a minimum of 1200 hours on-the-job, and must be registered with the NYS Department of Labor–all of which enrich the clinical experience.
Since residencies work so well, why make the effort to register a teacher Apprentice program?
Well, like icing, the Apprenticeship offers an enhanced experience for both the district and candidate with:
supplemental DOL grants called Apprenticeship Expansion Grants (this year’s grant allows program sponsors access to $15,000 per Apprentice for tuition assistance, Apprentice wage offsets, and other supports);
automatic tuition assistance for State University candidates;
an expanded teacher candidate pipeline thanks to wage requirements and tuition support that reduces student debt, removing barriers to attract a more diverse pool; and
modest startup money from the HUB to districts/BOCES, unions affiliates, and IHEs.
Cake is good, yet icing makes it marvelously complete. Registering an Apprenticeship program opens opportunities for funding, removes barriers, improves preparedness, increases retention, and builds educator diversity which all serve to enhance the foundational residency program.
An educator workforce crisis, years in the making, has schools and communities scrambling to find solutions as new teachers leave the profession in droves and pandemic-fatigued veterans retire to begin new life chapters. The stakes could not be higher as our nation’s democracy, Gross Domestic Product, infant mortality rate, and societal values, depend on a strong public school education system.
Though we may not be able to convince someone at retirement age to stay and teach a few years longer, we can fix the frustratingly high new teacher attrition rates (spiraling upward to 50%) and lack of educators being representative of the communities they serve by redefining how we prepare teachers for the classroom. We must begin by revising the present 1950’s model for teacher preparation, rooted in short unpaid student teaching stints, to create one or two year-long residencies that employ candidates as Apprentices–aka, Registered Apprenticeship Programs (RAPs).
Apprenticeships, grounded in centuries of successful workforce support, offer a viable talent development pathway through the NYS Department of Labor (DOL) Apprenticeship title of “Teacher”, which now provides districts and BOCES a workforce solution. RAPs are a strong response to teacher workforce challenges as they provide paid on-the-job experiences to teacher candidates working elbow to elbow with accomplished teachers to hone their craft while practicing what they learn in their college courses. Forming a RAP takes collaboration between multiple partners, and the NYS Educator Workforce HUB is here to help.
Remember the line in the movie, Jerry Maguire, where Jerry (sports agent) and Rod Tidwell (football star) are in the locker room and Jerry’s imploring Rod to work with him. Jerry pleads during the emotional exchange, “Help me… help you. Help me, help you.”? Well, those words and sentiments capture how the HUB functions. Our mission is to help address educator workforce challenges by facilitating Registered Apprenticeship partnerships. So we urge you, help us, help you. The HUB team is well-qualified and able to make the RAP creation process manageable and successful for district colleagues as they step into the roles of sponsor and employer. Click here to get started.
There just aren’t enough teachers to fill classrooms, and that’s a huge problem for schools and communities. With the stark realities of supply and demand, the temptation to act fast and take shortcuts when hiring staff is palpable, particularly when competing with neighboring districts facing similar situations.
Yet, investing in something as important as student learning requires a thoughtful, measured response. As we learned in childhood from the Tortoise and the Hare, slow and steady wins the race. Long-term success just can’t be rushed. It is attained with a thoughtful, steady strategy rather than with panicked speed. When considering how best to approach the current teacher crisis, we must ask ourselves:
What is driving this predicament? and
What needs to be done to reverse course?
These are not easy questions, and NY schools are not alone in grappling with them. In some cases, like the speedy hare, states have opted to quickly reduce, or even eliminate, certification requirements needed for individuals to enter classrooms. While such shortcuts may serve to rapidly recruit and hire individuals, ill-preparedness usually leads to fast burns and attrition. The resulting “churn” burdens the system, hurting students and the school community. These types of quick solutions also pose long-term risks to districts in school culture, student success, and community support. So how do we break or prevent this cycle?
Another hard question. By being the tortoise and investing in the long game, we plan and work to access, develop, and retain strong talent. We pay candidates while they learn their craft working alongside an experienced educator. Educators know from best practices that learning made real by experience is the most impactful. A paid Apprenticeship model has been a successful mainstay for the workforce development community for centuries, so let’s combine, follow and implement these best practices across systems with future educators. Let’s adopt a slower, yet steady response that leverages learning through lived experience. In other words, let’s slow down and take the time to invest in a long-range, high-quality solution to the teacher workforce crisis through Apprenticeships.
It's a Rap 