Michigan's teacher shortage is pushing education leaders across the state to find new pathways to teaching.
The National Education Association said this year alone, more than half of teachers are thinking of quitting the profession early. The main reason? Burnout.
But now, intermediate schools across Michigan are teaming up for a new program to get more teachers in the pipeline.
The program is called Talent Together, and it broadens the way you can become a teacher.
Instead of getting a bachelor's degree, you can become a teacher through an apprenticeship or a paid student-teacher gig, and schools within Oakland Intermediate School District are taking advantage.
"The educator shortage crisis in Michigan is among the worst in the country," Washtenaw Intermediate School District Superintendent Naomi Norman said.
It's likely to worsen as well, according to the NEA study.
"I can even tell from my freshman year to now, my classes are getting to like 20-15 kids," Madison Daniel, an education major at Central Michigan University, said.
Daniels said her dream job is to become an elementary school teacher, but every year, fewer people share that goal.
The U.S. Department of Education is reporting 12,000 people enrolled in teacher prep programs in Michigan in 2019, compared to 23,000 in 2008.
"We know even now we can try to continue to do this on our own, the solution is bigger than us at the local level," Ypsilanti Community School District Superintendent Dr. Alena Zachery-Ross said.
To address the crisis, 39 intermediate school districts in our state are enrolling in Talent Together.
Scott Koziol-Chair, Charlevoix- Emmett ISD
"Those of us at the talent together consortium believe this program will produce hundreds of additional teachers in the next 5 years," Scott Koziol, the chair of the Charlevoix-Emmett ISD, said.
