USDOE Seeks to Expand Pathways into the Education Profession

The U.S. Department of Education recently announced a variety of measures meant to expand the number of people entering the education profession.

First, the USDOE is joining the Good Jobs Initiative, a call to action across the federal government to help shore up access to and retention of good jobs as the foundation of a thriving economy. As part of this initiative, ED is issuing a set of Good Jobs Principles for Education describing high-quality working conditions that comprise a good job and will help attract and retain a high-quality education workforce in all roles and at all levels, from early childhood through higher education.

The USDOE is the seventh agency to announce its partnership with the Good Jobs Initiative, joining the U.S. Departments of Interior, Commerce, Transportation, and Energy, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency and the General Services Administration.

The USDOE and the U.S. Department of Labor also jointly announced the following:

• Nearly $50 million from the USDOE to expand high-quality and affordable educator preparation programs. This funding includes:
  • $25 million in the Teacher Quality Partnership Grant program, which invests in high-quality, evidence-based educator programs, including teacher residency programs that include a year of on-the-job learning in the classroom. The competition includes priorities for applications that are designed to increase educator diversity and support evidence-based grow-your-own programs, including high school dual enrollment, and Registered Apprenticeship Programs for teachers that are fully aligned with high-quality design principles.
  • $15 million for the Augustus F. Hawkins Centers of Excellence program to support high-quality teacher preparation programs and address teacher shortages through investments in Educator Preparation Programs at historically black colleges and universities, tribally controlled colleges and universities, and minority serving institutions, including Hispanic serving Institutions, with a state-accredited teacher preparation program. Programs supported by Hawkins include evidence-based, comprehensive pre-service clinical experiences.
  • $8 million in the National Professional Development program, which supports pre-service training programs for teachers, paraprofessionals, administrators and aspiring educators, including high school students (for example, through dual enrollment and early college programs), who want to become fully certified as bilingual or multilingual educators.
• Nearly $200 million from the DOL to support Registered Apprenticeship, which include K-12 teachers as a priority occupation. This funding includes:
  • $100 million for a second round of State Apprenticeship Expansion Formula Grants to modernize and strengthen the National Apprenticeship System, while also providing opportunities for those states that have the capacity and can commit to adopting and expanding new opportunities for innovation, equity, expansion and modernization in Registered Apprenticeship.
  • $95 million for a second round of Apprenticeship Building America Grants to continue to expand, diversify and strengthen the Registered Apprenticeship system through support for public and private partnerships designed to serve a range of industries and individuals and promote Registered Apprenticeship programs as a workforce development solution that translates training into good jobs.

Additionally, the USDOE and the DOL will launch new technical assistance offerings to help support high quality Registered Apprenticeship programs for teachers, as well as other efforts to support teacher recruitment, preparation, retention and development.

Get more details in the full news release.