The Idaho State Board of Education’s K-12 Registered Teacher Apprenticeship program gained approval last week both from the Idaho Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Labor and program implementation is 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.”
“Attracting and retaining qualified people to teaching is imperative in Idaho, so I’m appreciative of any program that helps in this regard,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield said. “I encourage Idaho school leaders to take a look and see if this program makes sense for their districts and charters.”
Now that 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.
More information about the program is available on the State Board of Education website. Additional information will be added to the webpage in the coming weeks:
Registered Teacher Apprenticeship Program | Idaho State Board of Education
