Registered apprenticeships through IU Kokomo help address teacher shortage
Indiana University Kokomo is helping address the state’s teacher shortage through IU’s registered apprenticeship program.
Managed through IU’s Office of School Partnerships, the program offers paid apprenticeships to individuals pursuing a bachelor’s degree in education or participating in the Transition to Teaching program. Most IU Kokomo apprentices are in the Pathways for Paraprofessionals program, which allows people already working in schools to continue their employment while earning their teaching credentials.
Leah Nellis, assistant vice president for school partnerships; Chancellor Mark Canada, Paul Ketcham, Indiana assistant secretary of education; Dean Christopher Darr, and Scott Jones, executive vice chancellor, at IU Kokomo’s recent Center for Educational Partnerships meeting.
“The advantage is that the apprentice is working and being paid in a role that allows them to apply what they are learning in their classes at IU Kokomo and really getting hands-on experience with a mentor in the building,” said Leah Nellis, assistant vice president for school partnerships.
IU Kokomo currently has 24 teacher apprentices through partnerships with Community Schools of Frankfort, Logansport Community School Corp., Pioneer Regional School Corp., Marion Community Schools, Hamilton Heights School Corp., and Alexandria Community Schools.
Kokomo-area education leaders learned more about the program at the Division of Education’s recent Center for Educational Partnerships meeting. Jason Graves, senior director of work-based learning and apprenticeships for the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, said nearly 600 Indiana residents are in education-related apprenticeships statewide, preparing to become teachers, principals, or school counselors.
Many of those in teaching programs are already school employees, such as coaches, paraprofessionals and substitute teachers, who have been identified as good candidates for the classroom.
“We’re always trying to think outside the box where we can find people to work in education,” Graves said. “Apprenticeships are great for any employer struggling to find people. This isn’t a fast fix, and it won’t work for everyone, but it’s a tool in the box.”
IU registered apprenticeships are approved by the U.S. Department of Labor and offer school district employees structured, paid pathways into teaching, school leadership, and school counseling roles. Key components include paid on-the-job learning, assigned mentors, and IU coursework. Each apprenticeship leads to a degree or certificate, preparing graduates to enter education careers with real-world experience.
Nellis said the goal is to help districts develop their own teaching workforce.
“It helps to grow their local talent,” she said. “A lot of the teacher apprentices at Kokomo and other campuses are individuals who have been paraprofessionals, sometimes for eight to 12 years. School leaders know they are good with kids, they’re going to stay in their communities, and they’re already a valuable part of the school. It’s a way to help them advance.”
Apprentices can apply what they are learning in their coursework to a K-12 classroom while fulfilling required field or practicum experiences, including student teaching, at the schools where they already work.
“The coursework and the classwork are coordinated, and one counts for the other,” Nellis said. “Another related benefit is that because they are part of a registered apprenticeship program, we have been able to secure workforce development dollars to provide some tuition assistance. It allows them to complete their degrees with less out-of-pocket costs than might have been the case for them.”
IU handles the program’s administrative responsibilities, allowing schools to participate without managing the approvals and paperwork required by the federal program.
“We’re doing a lot of the program approval and programs reviews and all of the reporting centrally, so it’s more efficient for our campuses and our P-12 partners,” Nellis said. “It helps more schools be able to participate.”
IU Kokomo’s Center for Educational Partnerships is a collaboration between the Division of Education and public school districts in north central Indiana.
For more information about IU’s registered apprenticeships, visit schoolpartnerships.iu.edu/p-12-programs/registered-apprenticeships/.
To learn more about the Division of Education’s Center for Educational Partnerships, visit kokomo.iu.edu/humanities-and-social-sciences/education/center-for-educational-partnerships.
Education is KEY at Indiana University Kokomo.