UTA, Arlington ISD collaboration looks to help solve teacher shortage | Fort Worth Report (2024)

Texas needs high-quality teachers.

It’s a statement echoed by headlines, school districts and education groups across the state in the wake of high workforce turnover lingering from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Experts trace the struggles to a lack of proper teacher training and accessible certification programs — two factors Arlington Independent School District is attempting to address in a collaboration with the University of Texas at Arlington’s new noncredit, online track-to-teacher certification.

Last year, the district had about 500 teachers needing a certification path, said Tim Jacobbe, the dean for UT-Arlington’s College of Education. Arlington ISD is investing in lowering that number, covering UT-Arlington’s $5,000 program fee for 75 selected participants and providing them with on-the-job classroom training.

By accepting the district’s financial aid, participants agree to stay in Arlington ISD for at least three years, Jacobbe said. The current agreement is for 2024-25, and it’s open-ended whether the parties will continue the partnership beyond this year.

While in the certification program, Arlington ISD’s 75 candidates will teach as long-term substitutes for the district, said Angie Smith, the district’s director of human resources recruitment and substitute services. By the time teachers are certified, they have months of classroom experience and training on the campuses where they will likely remain as instructors.

Alternative certification programs are designed for aspiring teachers who hold bachelor’s degrees in fields unrelated to education but want a fast, accessible way to become certified.

Just over a third of the state’s newly hired teachers lack any type of Texas certification or permit — a number that’s risen 23 percentage points from a decade ago, according to the Texas Education Agency.

Texas has multiple options for people to teach short term without full certification, including as substitutes or through emergency permits, which are granted to districts by the state and are valid for one school year.

Teachers in fields like STEM, bilingual education and special education are especially sought after, according to TEA. Arlington ISD will choose which participants to pay for based on these high-need areas.

Texas’ teacher attrition rate — the percentage of teachers leaving year-to-year — has steadily risen over the past decade, hitting 13.4% in 2022-23, the highest in recent years, according to TEA.

That number dipped to 12.2% last school year. But education experts have stayed grim about the state of the workforce. Rising stress, poor training and compensation out-of-pace with inflation have all seeded the instability, according to a 2023 report from a Teacher Vacancy Task Force that Gov. Greg Abbott established in 2022.

UT-Arlington’s new program falls in line with the report’s calls for Texas institutions to create more pipelines for new teachers. It found the state’s lack of preparatory programs, which offer teachers in-class experience before certification, ultimately hurts long-term teacher retention.

“We’re hoping to develop lifelong educators, people who want to remain in the classroom for the long term,” said Robin Jocius, associate dean for academic affairs for the College of Education. “Not just for that short-term commitment — a year or two or three years — but for their full careers.”

The state has also recently invested more in its teacher residency programs, which were established in Texas just over a decade ago. Similar to medical residencies for aspiring health workers, teacher residencies pair teaching candidates with mentors for a year of clinical teaching in a K-12 classroom.

Last year, the state vetted residency programs at 37 universities, partnering with around 90 districts to help cover the cost of the residency.

While UT-Arlington and Arlington ISD have so far not been involved in any such program, Texas Christian University, Texas Wesleyan and Tarleton State are among the local universities that have established residencies.

UT-Arlington’s traditional certification programs graduate about 300 students annually, said Brenda Harris, director of student services in the College of Education. The university supplies nearly 33% of Arlington ISD’s teachers, according to the district’s website.

Drew Shaw is a reporting fellow for the Arlington Report. Contact him at drew.shaw@fortworthreport.org or @shawlings601. At the Arlington Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.

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