n WORKFORCE
R
yan Wallace was a few seconds from seeing a dream Research shows attrition highest among teachers who are
slip away. In September 2016, he was a 30-year-old in their first three years. The consequences of all that churn
manager of a pest control company in Sacramento. are huge — each teacher transition costs California taxpay-
One day that month, he walked into the Midtown ers from $9,000 to $20,000. And higher turnover can drive
Sacramento office of the California Commission on down student test scores, a 2013 national study found.
Teacher Credentialing to ask how he might become a teacher.
To fill the gap, county education offices and college
It was his third attempt at getting into the profession. schools of education are trying something new: paid in-
Wallace grew up wanting to work in the classroom but got ternships and residencies, in which teachers work under
sidetracked in college, instead choosing a health exercise the guidance of a coach or mentor teacher while they take
science degree and becoming a personal trainer. He and education-theory classes, for which they pay tuition. As in
his wife had moved to Lincoln
the traditional route, they pay
from Oklahoma in 2008 after
for those classes, but they also
graduating college, but when
get paid a salary or stipend for
the recession hit, his work as a
their work in the classroom,
personal trainer dried up.
making them attractive to
He visited the Placer Coun-
working professionals like Wal-
ty Office of Education in 2008
lace who have families to sup-
and 2010 to ask what it would
port and a passion for teaching.
take to become a teacher, but
The number of those gradu-
his timing was awful — most
ating through both routes is
~ Ryan Wallace, math teacher,
districts were in the middle
growing. And for residencies,
Marysville High School
of layoffs. A friend helped him
the early indicators on teacher
land a job in pest control, and
turnover are promising, with
two years later he was promot-
more residents staying in the
ed to manager and earning
field long term.
$75,000 a year.
But his desire to teach wouldn’t go away. So that after- THE RISE OF SUPPORTED INTERNSHIPS
noon at the CTC office, he showed the receptionist his tran- If the classroom were a cockpit, an intern would be the pilot
scripts. She told him he’d need to enroll full time in a uni- in training who does months of coursework, passes a bat-
versity for at least a year of coursework and do six months tery of tests and then needs to grab the yoke — with lots of
of unpaid student teaching. She handed him a list of schools help from a coach. Interns get a hefty dose of educational
where he could earn a teaching credential.
theory. SCOE internships are open to graduates of accredit-
He and his wife had three kids to support, so an unpaid ed colleges, both those just out of school and those switch-
teaching stint was impossible. He was turning to leave when ing from another career. So great is the teacher shortfall
he and the receptionist were interrupted by an education that SCOE doesn’t turn away applicants with a college de-
coordinator from the Sacramento County Office of Educa- gree, and the program can take in as many as 65 applicants
tion, who was there on other business. “I couldn’t help but per year.
overhear — there are other options for getting your cre-
The program starts with five months (160 hours) of eve-
dential,” she told him, handing over a card for someone in ning coursework and tests: a state basic educational skills
SCOE’s new teacher intern program.
test and a test for competency in specific subjects that
“As soon as she said there are other options, I was like, covers an applicant’s area of focus, such as math, biology
‘This is it,’” says Wallace. “I said to myself, ‘I’m all in.’”
or physics. The testing knocks out some participants; state
Enthusiasm for the classroom is a scarce resource in data show that on average seven of 10 first-time takers pass
California. The need for more teachers is dire, especially in them. (In a few cases, applicants can skip the basic skills
math, science and special education. In a fall 2017 survey of test, if they have a qualifying score on an SAT or Advanced
districts representing a quarter of the state’s enrollment, 80 Placement test, for example.)
percent reported shortages, with 90 percent of those report-
After passing the courses and tests, interns apply for
ing the numbers getting worse, the Palo Alto-based Learn- full-time teaching jobs at school districts, including those
ing Policy Institute found. Turnover is high, with almost 9 outside Sacramento County. Under state rules, interns can
percent of teachers leaving the field or the state each year. be hired only when someone with at least a preliminary
“As soon as she said there are
other options, I was like, ‘This is
it.’ I said to myself, ‘I’m all in.’”
38
comstocksmag.com | August 2019