State Board of Education K-12 teacher apprenticeship program approved
BOISE, Idaho (KIFI) - Both the Idaho Department of Labor and U.S. Department of Labor approved the Idaho State Board of Education’s K-12 Registered Teacher Apprenticeship program last week.
Program implementation is now underway.
The Middleton and Dietrich School Districts both have signed employer agreements to participate in the program and about a half dozen other local education agencies (LEAs) are showing interest.
Authority for developing the program was granted last year when Senate Bill 1069 was signed into law. The Registered Teacher Apprenticeship program is designed as an “earn and learn” pathway to become a certified teacher.
Traditional pathways to teacher certification require candidates to complete unpaid student teaching. The lack of full-time wages can be a barrier for would-be teacher candidates. The Registered Teacher Apprenticeship program will enable a candidate, such as a long-time paraprofessional, to work a full-time paid position as part of their training and become a certified teacher upon completion of the apprenticeship requirements.
Teacher apprentices will be supervised and mentored by experienced certified teachers under an “earn and learn” model that will enable them to earn higher wages while they learn on the job.
“The Registered Teacher Apprenticeship program is an innovative approach to help address Idaho’s shortage of certified teachers, particularly in rural areas,” State Board President Dr. Linda Clark said. “Candidates for this program already have classroom experience, in some cases, many years of experience working with students as paraprofessionals. This program will give them an opportunity to advance their careers without uprooting themselves or their families to enroll in one of our more traditional teacher preparation programs at one of our higher education institutions.”
Now the program has been approved as a registered apprenticeship, Idaho LEAs and apprentices will be able to apply for funding from the U.S. Department of Labor to launch the program and help pay for related technical instruction.
Standards for the Registered Teacher Apprenticeship program were approved by the Board at the December 2023 regular Board meeting.
