By SHANA SLOMA
news@readthereporter.com
Westfield High School (WHS) is giving students interested in teaching an opportunity to earn both income and college credit through Indiana’s first registered teacher apprenticeship program.
The program was created by The Pursuit Institute’s (TPI) Founding Executive Director Carrie Lively, in partnership with Ball State University. The program gives students a chance to receive college credit, obtain invaluable work experience within their own district, and potentially receive greater than minimum wage during a federally approved apprenticeship. The five-year educator-focused program creates a pathway for college-bound students seeking a career in education beginning in their junior or senior year of high school and supports students throughout their academic journey.
Through dual enrollment at Ball State University, students can obtain as many as 34 transferable credit hours toward a degree in elementary education prior to finishing high school. Prospective teachers will have the opportunity to work as paid apprentices alongside teacher mentors in a team teaching environment throughout various Westfield Washington elementary schools.
The apprenticeship program kicked off in 2022 through Noblesville High School with only one student. It expanded this year to include other interested students throughout Hamilton County, including three Westfield High School juniors ready to pursue the goal of becoming educators.
Through Hamilton County schools’ collaborative career center, TPI, Westfield Washington Schools (WWS) initiated a program that not only taught students how to educate others but helped students obtain necessary hours in the field while earning income. Westfield’s program offering a paid employment opportunity was then opened to other students within the district whose own programs were more limited in scope.
Mackenna Johnson, the first student to enroll in the registered teacher apprenticeship program through Noblesville High School, spent her junior year apprenticing at the Boys and Girls Club of Noblesville after school.
Desiring a more formal classroom setting aligning with her teaching goals, Johnson sought out the opportunity to teach through the WWS district’s more comprehensive program. WWS Superintendent Paul Kaiser allowed Johnson to enter Westfield’s program, giving both Johnson and WWS the benefit of a joint approach to education.
The registered teacher apprenticeship program not only creates better prepared teachers, but it also aids the ongoing teacher shortage by driving teacher retention within each of Hamilton County’s districts.
“The teacher apprenticeship was a natural fit for our community,” Lively said. “We have highly desired schools that people want to teach in, and if we can grow our own teachers early and create a pipeline of teachers filling those gaps as educators then we can better serve all students and create systemic change.”
Director of Teacher Pathway Programs for Ball State University Mary Rinehart also supports the “grow your own” model of forming new teachers. When asked about the university’s goal of the registered teacher apprenticeship program, Rinehart said, “The vision behind this program is that through early experience within their school district, [the students] are motivated to go back and become an asset for their entire community.”
According to WWS Director of College Careers and Strategic Development Lindsay Tomamichel, one important feature of the apprenticeship program is the opportunity for employment. Students must go through an interview process in order to be hired through the district if they wish to be paid employees.
Although Ball State has generously donated a grant to WWS, Tomamichel said the money is used to provide a stipend for the teacher mentors and that the district has chosen to pay students out-of-pocket. She said WWS is “committed to giving every opportunity possible to the students,” which is why there is no cap on the number of students permitted into the teacher apprenticeship program. The cost of employing the students and for dual enrollment does, however, rest solely on the district.
The program currently focuses on elementary education with no internships available in the high school due to the age of the students. There is potential for student apprentices to gain experience in the middle school setting, but Tomamichel indicates that so far there has been no interest expressed for that age group.
Apprentices are peppered throughout the WWS elementary schools providing a variety of services supporting the needs of the classroom.
Along with observing teacher mentors, student interns assemble materials for lessons, teach small groups, assist with playground duty, and provide additional support as needed.
Sara Sundo is a kindergarten teacher mentor at Washington Woods Elementary School who said she thoroughly enjoys her role inspiring the next wave of future educators.
“I love to have them because they are young and excited,” Sundo said. “Teaching is about building relationships especially in early education. Showing the student teachers how to connect with students and manage behavior is also an important skill.”
Though changes and enhancements are expected as the registered teacher apprenticeship program continues to evolve, Lively maintains that the goal of TPI remains the same.
“We want to be able to expand career and technical education opportunities to all students no matter what their ZIP code might be, so that they have equitable access to education and training,” Lively said.