learning
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Service to Workforce Pipeline: Building the Next Generation of New York Teachers
There is a unique energy that comes from a year of service. It’s the feeling of being “all in,” dedicating your time, skills, and heart to a cause bigger than yourself. At its foundation, education is a service career, educators recognize this same commitment as they enter the classroom each and every day, driven by Continue reading
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The Critical Role of Principals in Teacher Retention
As schools across the country face crippling educator shortages, retaining qualified educators has become equally as important as recruiting them. While many factors influence a teacher’s decision to stay or leave, one of the most impactful is school leadership. Principals play a central role in shaping the work environment, school culture, and support systems that Continue reading
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Buffalo City School District Builds Teacher Pipeline Through Apprenticeship
In a recent conversation with leaders from Buffalo City School District (BCSD), I had the opportunity to learn more about their innovative efforts to strengthen and diversify the educator workforce through a Registered Apprenticeship Program (RAP). Now in its second year, the program is already shaping the district’s approach to long-term staffing and career development Continue reading
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Apprenticeship in Action for Future Educators
Meet Lexi, a high school and college graduate, and a working mom. She began her career in education as a teacher aide in Hoosick Falls, NY, where she quickly discovered a deep passion for working with students and a natural talent for supporting their learning. Despite how much she loved the role, Lexi knew that an Continue reading
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Is Student Debt Holding Back Our Educators?
Becoming a teacher has always been a calling for many but lately, it’s felt more like a financial gamble. Across the country, school districts are struggling with severe teacher shortages, and fewer people are entering the profession. At the same time, the federal government has restarted student loan collections after a five-year pause. For many Continue reading
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From Celebration to Sustained Support: Honoring Educators Beyond One Week
Across New York State last week, classrooms were filled with celebrations: bulletin boards covered in kind words, carts of snacks making their rounds, surprise coffee deliveries, catered lunches and heartfelt notes from students and families. It’s a beautiful moment and one that’s well deserved. But it also raises an important question: why just once a Continue reading
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Educators Always Knew—The Rest of Us Are Just Catching Up: The Importance of Meeting Future Educators’ Needs as We Build the Pipeline
Over the weekend, I was sitting with a few friends who are current educators. As someone who has worked in education for the last decade but not as a classroom teacher something clicked for me. In talking about their experiences, I realized what teachers have known all along: the best way to support learning is Continue reading
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Pioneering the Future: Harpursville Blazes the Way with NYS School Administrator Apprenticeship
Across the country, the call for dynamic, well-prepared school leadership is growing louder and New York is stepping up in a big way. Leading this charge is Harpursville Central School District, the first in New York State to launch a Registered Apprenticeship Program (RAP) for school administrators. This groundbreaking initiative is helping redefine how we Continue reading
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A Closer Look at Educator Apprenticeships and Traditional Student Teaching
Because Preparation Matters! Let’s be real: teacher prep matters—now more than ever. With enrollment in teacher prep programs at an all-time low and teacher shortages hitting schools hard, I have come to realize the traditional student teaching model, where aspiring educators spend only a few months unpaid in classrooms, isn’t meeting the needs of the Continue reading
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Welcome to the Learning Curve! 🎉
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 Continue reading
It's a Rap 