The Opportunity in Shortages

In this webinar, Paul Sindelar and Jenny DeMonte describe the opportunity in shortages by addressing two questions: How can states and districts improve the quality of educator preparation with strategies that also address shortage? How can states and districts fund such initiatives?

The presenters show how the quality of preparation may be improved by some steps states and districts can take to address teacher shortages. For example, residency programs are touted as an effective strategy for addressing shortages, but residency programs also offer opportunities to (a) enhance clinical experiences and (b) align preparation content and district practice, both improvements on traditional preparation practice. Further, the need for high quality service delivery via multi-tiered systems of support creates an opportunity for faculty and district professionals to collaborate to enhance school practice, benefiting everyone.  We then will consider how states and districts can fund such initiatives, including opportunities for federal funding in ESSA and HEA.