MCLA and BCC work to solve teaching vacancies with practical programming

Over the last few years, the country has seen a growing loss of educators. According to job listings on School Spring, at the start of the fall 2022 academic year, there were more than 1,100 full-time teaching position vacancies within 50 miles of North Adams. Of the 1,100 positions, dozens include paraprofessional openings.

This year, MCLA and Berkshire Community College (BCC) are making strides to support educators to fulfill these opportunities.

Many times, in an attempt to close the gap, paraprofessionals, or teaching assistants, have assumed positions without proper training. Most paraprofessionals enter the field without teaching licensure yet fall into the responsibilities of a full-time teacher without proper training. To fill vacancies, MCLA and BCC created the “Associates to Bachelors” Pathway to Teacher Licensure program or P2T.

“We have worked with BCC over the years to better align our programs for the needs of students,” said Nicholas Stroud Ph.D., Chair of the MCLA Education Department.

“Paras have a good sense of what it means to be a teacher. They have the background and expertise working with students that we really value. It’s not a career change. They’ve been doing a lot of the work, so it makes a lot of sense to support them.”

The program provides an efficient pathway to teacher licensure and is specifically designed for paraprofessionals currently employed by pre-K–12 schools in Berkshire County.

After working with superintendents and district leadership teams throughout the county, Barbara Kotelnicki, Associate Professor of Education at BCC, and Michelle Colvin, MS Ed.A., MCLA Director of Field Education polled the field about what is needed and how paraprofessionals can take the next step to teaching licensure. With over 200 responses, roughly 30 percent were most interested in a pathway program to licensure.

To work as a paraprofessional an associate degree or two years of college is required. The responsibilities vary by the school district and collective bargaining agreements but largely revolve around supporting the academic, intellectual, and emotional well-being of students across a variety of educational settings.

“They’re being tasked with responsibilities beyond their job description. Part of it is COVID and part of it is that 21st-century needs have changed,” said Kotelnicki. “The job entails much more than it has in the past.”

What are the barriers?

Out of 81 survey respondents, 42 percent said that time is the great- est barrier preventing them from pursuing career goals. Other reasons paraprofessionals don’t pursue teaching licensure are lack of finances, balancing jobs and families, and test anxiety around the Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTEL).

“Money, testing, and life circumstances are the biggest issues,” Colvin said. “In our information sessions, we’ve heard people say, “I’ve always wanted to do this, but I don’t know where to start.”

Jesse McMillan is a principal at New Hingham Elementary School in Chesterfield, Mass., and graduated with a master’s degree in education from MCLA in 2017. He was raised in a family of educators, taught English in Springfield and Pittsfield Public Schools, and was the speaker for the 2022 MCLA Convocation.

Various headlines publicize the decline in educators. McMillan worries that the “national narrative of all educators being overworked, underpaid, and underappreciated is generalized and applied to the entire field,” and could deter students from pursuing a career in education, however, the complications vary by district.

“There are also a significant number of districts that are a wonderful place to work where educators are respected and valued, earn a respectable salary, and have the resources to support their classroom,” he said. “I would highly encourage those who want to enter the field to conduct thorough research on job opportunities and find the school and district that will be the right fit; they’re out there.”

The pathway to success

While the MTEL is one reason some may not obtain their teaching licensure, a new option has been created for eligible teacher candidates to take the next step.

Changes were made this year and those who did not pass on or after Oct. 20, 2022 are eligible for the MTEL-Flex exam – a flexible testing option for candidates and for those whose score was very close to the passing score. It allows for a written submission to demonstrate subject matter knowledge as well. Candidates who meet the eligibility requirements can submit an MTELFlex assessment rather than retaking the full MTEL test. For MTELFlex, candidates provide an analysis of an MTEL test objective to demonstrate the depth of their subject matter knowledge. Candidates who pass MTEL-Flex will meet the subject matter test requirement for their license.

“Depending on your score you can take a different option which is more of a narrative research-based project-building assessment in relation to the test,” Colvin said.

MTEL prep courses are offered to MCLA education students and Colvin said students are relieved when they hear they have support.

Support is the main focus of the Associates to Bachelors Pathway Program. It incorporates a cohort style of teaching that allows students to go through the program together.

“The students build a sense of community over time,” Stroud said. “They have a built-in group of peers who know what they’re going through and work through things together as they move through the program.”

In a testimonial video about the Early Childhood Education Cohort Experience at BCC, students talk about the support and growth they experienced by learning together throughout the program.

“I think I’ve grown a lot with the help of others in the class and the moral support that we give each other. It’s very nice to be able to look at someone to say, “I’m confused. Are you confused?” knowing that we all are in the same place and feeling the same way is definitely a calming factor,” said Tina Marie Carpenter, a student in the ECE cohort program.

Another student, Samantha Rodriguez, emphasized that she was motivated by her family to finish the program.

“As it went on, I’m like, I want to graduate. I want to walk across that stage... I want to better my life for my daughter and myself, and my future family,” she said.

“Cohorts are beneficial because they’re the same people who are growing, learning, and thriving in one group. They become this family and don’t let each other fail. They create this relationship that continues past whatever degrees or in- terest they’re pursuing,” Kotelnicki said.

The Pathway to Teacher Licensure program was designed with paras at the core. It allows paraprofessionals to earn an associate’s degree at BCC and continue to MCLA to earn a bachelor’s degree and teaching license. Students follow an Early Childhood Education or Elementary/Secondary Education pathway; eligible students may also apply for credit for prior learning after enrolling at MCLA

“We made it flexible for someone with no college, some college, or those who already have a BA, to find their pathway to teacher licensure,” Colvin said. “We want to be able to meet individuals where they are and find the most effective and efficient path forward. We intentionally did it to be prescriptive and flexible for folks on their path.”

Classes for the P2T program are now being offered through the summer of 2025. A full schedule can be found on the BCC website and those interested in pursuing the program can email Barbara Kotelnicki (bkotelnicki@berkshirecc.edu.) or Michelle Colvin (michelle.colvin@ mcla.edu) via email.