How CTE Can Help Fill the Teacher Pipeline

Whitney Wilson

School districts in many states are struggling to fill teaching positions, especially in hard-to-staff areas such as math, science, and special education. According to the Center for Public Education, although the United States is awarding more teaching licenses overall, 20 states have seen a decline—even as their student enrollment continues to climb.

In Texas, where I teach family and consumer sciences at a public high school, the state workforce commission predicts an 18 to 28 percent growth in the number of teachers needed through the year 2022.

Clearly, the need for teachers is dire. School systems can help solve this challenge by growing their own talent through career and technical education (CTE). With the introduction of CTE courses in the education field, high schools can spark students' interest early on and help those who are so inclined on a pathway to a teaching career.

K–12 leaders who want to introduce a new CTE program in their school or district often wonder where they will find the expertise or the resources to offer such a course. Online and blended-learning CTE programs can help address this concern, providing a cost-effective solution to career instruction that gives students 24–7 access to high-quality curriculum and learning materials.

And when the career field in question is education, school systems have no shortage of certified experts who could teach such a course! After all, who is more qualified to teach students about becoming a K–12 teacher than another K–12 teacher?

I recently had the honor of helping to create a new CTE course for aspiring teachers for CEV Multimedia, a curriculum and educational resources company. Offered through ice, an online learning platform, the Instructional Practices in Education and Training course offers 20 lessons that cover the fundamentals of classroom management, lesson planning, instructional technology, educational assessments (including Depth of Knowledge and Bloom's Taxonomy), learning styles, special education, and other topics.

Students who take a course like this in high school are getting prime observation hours and hands-on experience working in the classroom. This helps them decide if a career in education is going to be a good fit for them or not. That's important, because we want students to have a solid plan for life after high school. With CTE instruction, students can get the experience they need early on to figure out if they want to pursue a teaching career.

If a student's interest in teaching is confirmed by their experience in an education-focused CTE program, they will leave high school with the basic knowledge, skills, and confidence to succeed at the postsecondary level. Once in college, they will have a well-rounded idea of what to expect from their coursework and will only have to build on their foundational knowledge instead of starting from the beginning.

Another benefit to students that they might not get in college-level education classes is direct teacher input. There are often many students in undergraduate classes, and professors can't always work one-on-one with students. However, in high school CTE courses, we've noticed teachers have more capacity to work with students individually, which can foster personal relationships that cater to their specific needs.

Yet another advantage for students, and one that many K–12 leaders might not think about, is the effect that learning about student behaviors and best instructional practices while in high school can have on their own development as learners. As students learn about topics such as classroom management techniques, optimal learning styles, and roadblocks to understanding, they naturally reflect on their attitudes and experiences and learn to become better advocates for their own education.

The benefits to school systems in offering an education-focused CTE program are obvious. Developing a pipeline of home-grown talent could help districts fill teaching positions from within their own ranks of students, especially if they offer to help aspiring teachers with college scholarships in return for agreeing to work for the district.

Education-focused CTE is a win-win proposition. It benefits both students and school systems in numerous ways—and it's a key strategy in addressing the critical need for more teachers in schools nationwide.

Whitney Wilson is a family and consumer sciences teacher for the Tahoka Independent School District in Texas.

ASCD Express, Vol. 13, No. 18. Copyright 2018 by ASCD. All rights reserved. Visit www.ascd.org/ascdexpress.