Click play to listen to this article.

(Northern Rockies News Service) A program is Idaho is aiming to close the teacher shortage gap by training people where they live.

Idaho State University's Paraprofessional to Certified Teacher Program trains assistants, or paraprofessionals, who are already in the classroom to earn bachelor's degrees and become teachers. The course takes place online, so students can be anywhere in the state.

Cory Bennett, chair of teaching and educational studies at Idaho State, said the program's flexibility is part of its appeal.

Image

"A lot of these people are in districts or in schools and they have no intention of leaving," Bennett pointed out. "This is where home is. This is where their families are. And so, we're helping them find ways to grow within that community and continue to serve and support their communities by becoming a teacher."

The program has expanded since its first cohort three years ago, when it was in one school district. Its third cohort is located in 15 school districts and Bennett noted there is a growing waitlist of districts wanting to be included. They are exploring how to further grow the program.

Emma Wood, assistant dean of educator preparation at the university, said another important part of the program is it is designed to ensure paraprofessionals earn a degree without getting into debt. She emphasized the teacher shortage is because not enough educators are in the classroom five years after graduating, not because the state is not graduating enough teachers.

"Our anticipation is that their retention rate is going to go up," Wood explained. "Because what we have been finding is that teacher preparation programs are graduating enough teachers but we cannot keep up with the number of teachers that are leaving the profession."

Bennett added the program is rewarding because many of the people in the program never planned to get a college degree or even thought it was possible.

"The personal effect of this and how it touches people in very meaningful ways is profound and you can't really put words on it, you can't put a dollar amount on that," Bennett stressed. "It is quite literally changing lives."

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.