Declining Enrollments in Teacher Education Programs Part II Grow Your Own Initiative: A Journey on the Urban Teacher Pipeline by Azaria Cunningham

There is a burgeoning teacher shortage in America. The problem entails fewer people preparing to teach and also a high rate of turnover. According to Strauss (2017):

A report by the nonprofit Learning Policy Institute found that teacher education enrollment dropped from 691,000 to 451,000, a 35 percent reduction, between 2009 and 2014 — and nearly 8 percent of the teaching workforce is leaving every year, the majority before retirement age. 

Alongside the drop in teacher numbers, there is a crisis in representation and growing demand for minority teachers. The U.S. has experienced a decrease in teacher diversity across the nation with a constant question that plagues our nation: Where are the teachers? More specifically, where are the underrepresented teachers? Hanford (2017) observes, “For some reason, black teachers are disappearing. There were 4 percent fewer black teachers in American public schools in 2012 than there were in 2008.” One initiative to increase teacher enrollment and encourage the enrolment of minority teachers is the “Grow Your Own” (GYO) teacher initiative that offers scholarship and mentorship for future educators.

In this piece, I will share my involvement with the GYO teacher initiative through scholarship and mentoring. While this initiative varies based on the institution and state, I will focus on my experience in New Jersey. The GYO teacher initiative is a movement that consists of a partnership between a school district, university college of education, and/or an outside organization which focuses on preparing and recruiting high school students (Skinner, 2010). I was introduced to GYO during my own experience in an urban teaching pipeline called Paterson Teacher for Tomorrow (PT4T). PT4T provided me with support, exposed me to great opportunities, and has fueled all of my determination to give back to my community. The GYO teacher initiative is unique because once students graduate from their teacher preparation programs, they return to their own community to teach. PT4T took place across three different New Jersey high school locations under the leadership of the local university, William Paterson University (WPU). 

Each year the cohort size varied in the number of students enrolled in the program; my cohort had two students whereas the previous cohort had six. My educational journey began during the eleventh grade when I joined the future teacher after-school program that was also affiliated with WPU. I attended Eastside High School located in Paterson, New Jersey. It is the same high school where the critically acclaimed motion picture Lean on Mewas filmed and Morgan Freeman plays Mr. Joe Clark (Twain & Avildsen, 1989). While the film’s portrayal of my high school was negative, my high school journey at Eastside and involvement in PT4T led me to new opportunities, including a full scholarship for my undergraduate degree. 

With my scholarship, I enrolled at WPU in Wayne, New Jersey. In accepting the award, I agreed to return to my urban community and teach for two-years. I believed my time was a small price to pay to work in the community where I live. PT4T was an instrumental factor in me becoming a teacher and even pursuing a doctoral degree. The organization met regularly after-school, and students were given executive roles with the club. During this experience, I was mentored by WPU faculty and groomed into becoming an educator. While attending WPU, I was mentored continuously and engaged socially as well as professionally with my peers. PT4T served as a community and a home away from home. I never felt alone during my teacher preparation program because of the organization and having a community who looked like me was crucial because the institution was Predominately White (PWI). In my science and education courses, I was always the only Black female student. 

“Implementing mentorship programs for underrepresented students are incredibly pertinent to continue the pipeline of filling the vacancies of minority teachers within the K-12 school system.”

This program serves to be an example of how mentoring has positive effects on students and their success. If all American preK-12 educational systems implemented a mentoring program with a structured approach for change, many students’ lives would forever be changed. At the time, I failed to realize the significance of the organization and the possibilities that were offered. Although my story is not unique in terms of minority students experiencing the same issues, I hope that people will see the value in investing in minority high school students. Someone took a chance on me and invested in my future. 

Integrating mentorship and apprenticeship programs for students is a vital strategy that is necessary to improve the American preK-12 educational system. Having been given the opportunity to educate students in an urban setting for six years has allowed me to survey and hold open forums with my students, discussing their educational and personal needs. Through my experience, I have learned specifically that minority students in lower income households lack the necessary tools and resources that are essential to successfully compete and succeed in America’s educational system. Implementing mentorship programs for underrepresented students are incredibly pertinent to continue the pipeline of filling the vacancies of minority teachers within the K-12 school system. 

A crucial component to having a mentorship program is the foundational principle of racial mirroring (McGrady & Reynolds, 2013; Milner, 2006; Sidhu, 2014). It is essential for students to be able to connect with professionals who look like them (McGrady & Reynolds, 2013; Milner, 2006). How can one foresee a destination when they have never seen someone who looks like them at the finish line? I am fortunate to have realized the importance of representation while in my profession. Not only did my face reflect many of my students, but my background, upbringing, and interests also allowed them to see me as their equal. This underpins the need for minority teachers in the field. GYO teacher initiative program seems like the most feasible solution (Swanson, 2011). The GYO teacher initiative program can offer resources, like scholarship and mentorship, to minority students interested in the field which will lead to filling the declining enrollment gaps in teacher education programs. 

This is the second installment of our Declining Enrollments in Teacher Education Program Series. The first installment is Challenges and Promising Possibilities for Reversing the Trend by Logan Rutten and Azaria Cunningham and a forthcoming installment by Hansol Woo considers the motivations of people entering teaching along with some of the social, economic, and labor conditions of the teaching profession in the United States.

Azaria Cunningham is a Ph.D. candidate in Curriculum and Instruction at Penn State University. She holds a B.A. in Integrated Mathematics and Science and a Master’s Degree in Higher Education from William Paterson University of New Jersey. Before beginning her doctoral studies, Azaria taught middle school science.

References 

Hanford, E. (2017). Why are there so few black male teachers? Retrieved fromhttps://www.apmreports.org/story/2017/08/28/why-so-few-black-male-teachers

McGrady, P. B., & Reynolds, J. R. (2013). Racial mismatch in the classroom: Beyond Black-White differences. Sociology of Education, 86(1), 3-17.

Milner IV, H. R. (2006). The promise of black teachers’ success with Black students. Educational Foundations, 20, 89-104.

Sidhu, D. S. (2014). Racial Mirroring. U. Pa. J. Const. L., 17, 1335.

Skinner, E. A. (2010). Project Nueva Generacion and grow your own teachers: Transforming schools and teacher education from the inside out. Teacher Education Quarterly, 37(3), 155-167.

Strauss, V. (2017). Where have all the teachers gone? Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2017/09/18/where-have-all-the-teachers-gone

Swanson, P. B. (2011). Georgia’s grow-your-own teacher programs attract the right stuff. The High School Journal, 94(3), 119-133.

Twain, N. (Producer), & Avildsen, G. J.(Director). (1989). Lean on me [Motion picture]. United States: Warner Bros Studios