MIAMI, Fla. — According to the Florida Education Association, Florida’s education sector had nearly ten thousand vacancies in January and among them were nearly 5,300 unfilled teacher jobs.
It’s a problem that has persisted due to several factors. One of them is fewer and fewer students wanting to become teachers.
But one Miami-based college and school district are hoping to change that.
It’s been an issue in the state of Florida for years: retaining and recruiting teachers to fill in the thousands of gaps across our state.
In August of 2022, Miami Dade County Public Schools was short more than 200 teachers, an issue they’ve spent the last year trying to remedy with a local community college.
“We know there are many students who are interested in becoming teachers and this will help them get started,” shared Madeline Pumariega.
The President of Miami Dade College has been working with the school district’s superintendent to create what they call the ‘Teacher Academy Partnership program.”
“For students in our high schools that are interested in becoming a teacher, they can begin those teacher prep programs while they are in high school,” explained Pumariega.
According to the county, what that looks like is teacher academies, which many schools already have in place.
The student takes courses that go towards their high school diploma and earn them college credit. The courses will be geared towards completing a teaching degree focused in one of four areas: Early Childhood Education, ESE, Secondary Math or Secondary Science.
The goal is that by the time they graduate high school and complete their Associate Degree at Miami Dade College, students can complete their Bachelor’s Degree at MDC, then potentially start working at the school district.
"We want to empower them and inspire them to become teachers because, obviously, we know there is great power in that. For them, and for the community as a whole,” explained Lourdes Diaz, the Chief Academic Officer for MDCPS.
So far, the college and school district already has a teacher residency program in place that allows college students in their last year to opt out of student teaching and instead get hired by the school district to begin their careers and finish their degrees.
The two institutions hope to run this new program this fall, where students at any level and school can get started.
After this new program launches this upcoming school year, both the college and the school district say they will work on an internship program that would allow students to do an apprenticeship with a teacher while completing their bachelor’s degree.
