The Michigan Department of Education recently launched a program that aims to keep teachers in the classroom.
According to data from the 2023 American Teacher Survey by Merrimack College and the Winston School, 35% of teachers were "very or fairly likely to leave the profession in the next two years."
The Department of Education is fighting to lower that number with the Grow You Own Program. The grant-based initiative will give aspiring teachers a tuition-free degree.
“So, the state of Michigan, in response to teacher shortages in Michigan across the country, decided to invest significant amount of funds, approximately 275 million, in teacher preparation programs,” said Kristal Ehrhardt, associate dean and director of Teacher Education at Western Michigan University.
The way it works, school districts receive up to $19 million in grants to partner with universities like WMU. Then, school employees are given the chance to get certified or receive additional endorsements.
“For people who may have previously had to take out significant amounts of loans in order to be able to fund their education, it's going to give access to them to higher education into teaching as a profession,” Ehrhardt told FOX 17.
She says it doesn’t matter what your educational background is. The program at WMU offers bachelor's and master's opportunities in elementary and early childhood education, English as a second language, adapted physical education, special education, reading specialist, and workforce education and development.
“We make sure that as people are getting their education, and going through their practical experiences learning to be the teachers, they're getting experiences from the school districts to do so, and that we're maintaining a strong partnership with districts to ensure that they have the best possible experience,” she explained.
The education that these future teachers will receive, along with their pre-professional experience will help with retention in the long run.
“We do know that teachers that graduate that have had those strong pre-professional experiences, with experience in classrooms, great internship with a good strong supervisor and mentor, they're more likely to stay,” Ehrhardt told FOX 17.
This fall, WMU is expecting to add over 400 teacher education candidates, which will increase their education enrollment by 36%.
