Welcome
Did you know that The Registered Apprenticeship Program in teaching was approved at the federal level in November 2021? Apprenticeship works well with a Grow Your Own Partnership between educator preparation providers and School Districts and/or ESC's to select candidates (para-professionals, Graduating High School Seniors , Career Changers) from their local communities to earn their degree and educator license in order to teach. Thanks goes to David Donaldson, Founder and Managing partner for the National Center for Grow Your Own for his work in this endeavor and his awesome presentation at the National Coalition on Personnel Shortages for Special Education and Related Services today.
Learn more at: https://ncgyo.org
Also, did you know that Ohio held a series of regional meetings in March and April in 2023 to discuss the proposed new teacher apprenticeship program in Ohio? For those who attended the sessions, an email was sent out to submit information by May 12, 2023 to indicate interest in this program and the partnerships for next school year. My understanding is that the hope is that the official application will be approved and ready by this summer. The goal is to develop quality educators to meet the needs of our students, districts, and communities, to support educator candidates by providing a more collaborative and cost-effective pathway to the teaching profession, and by removing barriers, a more diverse candidate pool may strive to join the teaching profession.
OAPSA is a proud member of the National Coalition on Personnel Shortages in Special Education and Related Services (NCPSSERS) which is a national coalition comprised of 30+ participating member organizations, dedicated to addressing the issue of shortages in special education and related services personnel in schools. Critical shortages of special education teachers and related specialized instructional support personnel exist in all regions of the country. These shortages, as well as unfunded positions, impede the ability of students with disabilities to reach their full academic potential. For more information about this group and an exceptional list of resources connected to recruitment and retention of Special Education and Related Service Staff please visit their web site at https://specialedshortages.org/ or contact OAPSA Executive Director, Donna Stelzer at OAPSA.DonnaStelzer@gmail.com
