CLARKSVILLE, TN – Paving the way for teaching and educator workforce development nationwide, the Tennessee Department of Education announced on Jan. 13 it has pioneered a new way to develop teacher pipelines, and is the first state to be approved by the U.S. Department of Labor to establish a permanent Grow Your Own model, with Clarksville-Montgomery County School System and Austin Peay State University’s Teacher Residency program becoming the first registered apprenticeship program for teaching in the country.
“We are proud of the work that we’ve been able to accomplish with our partners — CMCSS, TDOE, and the Department of Labor — in charting a new path for teacher education in the state and the nation,” Dr. Prentice Chandler, dean of the APSU Eriksson College of Education, said. “We believe that the narrative around teacher education is misleading; people do want to be teachers in our schools, as our residency programs show. We just need to make it more accessible for all. This program is a giant step in that direction. We are honored to be the first in the nation doing this groundbreaking work with CMCSS.”
Tennessee is the first state in the country to sponsor Teacher Occupation Apprenticeship programs between school districts and Educator Preparation Programs (EPPs), which will further the state’s and nation’s efforts to extend the teacher pipeline and address teacher shortages.
This work builds on the state’s 65 existing Grow Your Own programs, which offers free opportunities to become a teacher, currently operating in Tennessee and clears the path for any other state or territory to launch similar programs with federal approval.
“As the first state to establish a permanent teaching apprenticeship program, Tennessee has a unique opportunity to lead the nation in education and workforce development,” Gov. Bill Lee said. “These apprenticeships will create a pipeline of experienced teachers with valuable on-the-job training and help ensure quality education for generations of Tennessee students.”
In 2018, APSU’s Eriksson College of Education developed an innovative partnership with CMCSS to provide 20 recent high school graduates and 20 teacher’s aides with an accelerated, free path to become full-time school system teachers in just three years.
That initiative – the Grow Your Own Residency Program – proved so successful that it was eventually adopted by colleges of education and school districts across the state. In October 2020, the Tennessee Department of Education launched its first round of Grow Your Own partnerships to strengthen the teacher pipeline through 65 partnerships between 14 EPPs and 63 school districts and a total initial investment of federal relief funding that will exceed $20M.
The Teacher Occupation Apprenticeship will provide a national model and permanent Grow Your Own pathway for Tennesseans to become teachers for free and obtain high-quality jobs in their own communities.