A few facts to think about:
Sekou Biddle
Unfortunately, this information above isn’t uncommon and it’s no secret that in K-12 education, states across the nation are facing teacher shortages, low numbers of state-licensed educators, high teacher retention rates, etc. The overarching challenge is school systems are now having to figure out solutions and quick. How do we address the teacher shortage? How do we recruit more teachers? Data shows that there’s a strong relationship between the preparation of teachers and their effectiveness in the classroom. It’s a sad fact that in low-income school systems, there are more unqualified teachers than those who are experienced, fully-certified educators. So then – how do we ensure we have well-prepared and certified teachers? And what can we do to ensure they continue teaching? What incentives are we offering new and experienced teachers? In most major U.S. cities, the student makeup in public school classrooms consist predominantly of Black and Brown students, while the educators are overwhelmingly White. For years researchers have shown that teacher representation matters. Recent studies have shown that if Black students have at least one Black elementary school teacher, their likelihood to graduate from high school and enroll in college is significantly increased. Then another question arises – how do we recruit more African-Americans into the K-12 teaching field?
Higher education, nonprofits and other industries have developed and implemented programs in an effort to meet and overcome these challenges. Colleges and universities including the University of Massachusetts and NYU have developed education programs – training, certification, residency and degree programs to incentivize students and even current professionals to become teachers. But HBCUs are in this space as well, after all most HBCUs were initially founded as teacher’s colleges. North Carolina A&T launched their Teacher Residency program in 2016. Coppin State also launched an innovative teacher preparedness program
As a former classroom teacher and as we celebrate all educators during Teacher Appreciation Week, I want to highlight an HBCU answering the call to easing the challenges facing Louisiana’s public education system, through their teacher residency program. In 2016 Louisiana’s Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted to change a policy in the way teachers are trained for the classroom. Before the policy change, programs often required classroom experience for 12 weeks prior to graduation. However, under the new rule, teacher candidates who want to teach in New Orleans, must complete a residency program that includes yearlong classroom experience with a veteran teacher.
Xavier University of Louisiana to the rescue.
In 2016 UNCF member institution, Xavier University of Louisiana (XULA) launched the Norman C. Francis Teacher Residency Program (NFCTR) in partnership with 5 New Orleans charter schools. The program’s mission is to develop exceptional educators who want to make teaching their career. Program leaders aim to attack key issues in Louisiana’s education system – recruiting and retaining teachers and ensuring classroom teachers have the qualifications and training as indicated by state regulations.
