Expanded U of M program seeks to bring career changers into education

As Michigan students return to the classroom, districts around the state are still grappling with teacher vacancies. A teacher shortage was a problem well before the pandemic, but COVID only made it worse as many teachers opted for early retirement or simply left the profession. Districts that are very urban or very rural areas have tended to be hit the hardest, said Associate Dean at U of M's School of Education, Kendra Hearn. “You’re seeing now sort of an apex, a conflation of a lot of problems that have been going on in the education field for a long time," Hearn said. One approach to combat the problem has been offering different pipelines into teaching, including fast-tracked initial certification programs which allow teachers inside classrooms as they work toward full certification. A recently expanded program through the University of Michigan's School of Education seeks to attract career changers into the teaching profession; people like Dave Adler.