Solving the teacher shortage

Los Altos School District, Foothill-De Anza Community College District and tech company Meta to provide subsidized teacher and staff housing. (Additional school districts may yet join.) Palo Alto has committed $1.45 million to gain access to 29 units (that will be available to employees for below-market rents) of the 110-unit project that will be built on county-owned land near the Palo Alto Courthouse. Construction has not yet started.

The state of California is making it easier for school districts to build affordable housing. In fall, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 2295, which will allow staff housing to be built on any property owned by a school district without requiring the district to request a zoning change. The law goes into effect January 1, 2024.

Growing your own

Well before the COVID-19 pandemic, Lindsay Unified School District took action to build its teacher pipeline. The district applied for (and received) a fiveyear, $50 million federal Teacher and School Leader Incentive grant and used some of the funds to help current Lindsay employees or graduates attend college and become teachers. The Empower Lindsay Teacher School Leaders Incentive informally called the “pipeline program,” requires graduates to teach in Lindsay or another Title 1 school for two years after program completion.

“Initially, this program was more about providing opportunities for our community, for our learners to go into a career where they can support their families,” says Grant Schimelpfening, assistant superintendent.

District leaders discovered (when they asked) that many classified staff members wanted to become teachers but didn’t pursue a teaching career because they lacked funds. The pipeline program allowed them to “get their bachelor’s degree and teaching credentials and start teaching,” says Yasmin Martin Aceves, teacher residency coordinator.

“We have people who were instructional aides for years and years who are now in front of the class teaching,” Schimelpfening says. “They connect with our learners so much more than someone who didn’t grow up in this kind of community.”

The district has also established a teacher residency program that allows participants to complete their master’s and teaching credentials in just one year; they also receive a $20,000 living stipend so they have some income while student teaching. Residents spend four days a week in the classroom, working with mentor teachers and getting hands-on experience – an arrangement that benefits the experienced teacher, the resident and students. Upon completion of the residency program, teachers must work for four years in either Lindsay, Dinuba, Cutler-Orosi Joint or Woodlake Unified School District.

“We didn’t have enough openings for all the graduated residents, so we partnered with some local districts,” Schimelpfening says.

Teacher shortages are now a thing of the past in Lindsay. Staff educators and teacher residents feel well-supported, and students say they benefit from building relationships with teachers who understand the challenges of their communities. The district is saving money as well, as they don’t need to spend as much to recruit or train new teachers.

By widening the pathway into teaching, grow-your-own pipelines can also increase the diversity of the teaching profession, according to research by the RAND corporation. In August 2022,

U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh announced plans to invest $100 million to help states expand educator apprenticeship programs.

Caring for teachers

Ultimately, educators want to be supported and valued. They want to work in environments that respect – and meet – their human needs for rest and connection. Survey data from Lindsay Unified suggests that teacher residency programs work well, at least in part, because residents feel “hear, cared for and supported.”

School districts working to mitigate the teacher shortage must talk with their educators and address the pain points that cause teachers to exit the classroom. z z z