51萝莉

This is the fifteenth part of a twenty-one blog series, 5 Years Later: Lessons, Innovation, and the Future of Public Education, exploring how PreK-12 education has evolved and what lessons we carry forward. This series will highlight the resilience, creativity, and strategic adaptations that have redefined public education since the pandemic. Read more posts from the series here.

Like many in the post-COVID education era, we faced a perfect storm: a national teacher shortage, a rural location without nearby urban centers to draw from, a community where less than 10% of adults held a bachelor's degree, and a growing student population needing bilingual and skilled teachers. Traditional solutions, like job fairs and our established "grow your own" programs, just weren鈥檛 enough to ensure highly skilled teachers were serving our students. 

Building on Community Strengths

Thankfully, we also noticed some key components during this time that became integral to our success in improving educator development. Our community cares deeply about students and many of our paraeducators were parents in the community or alumni of our school system. While we didn鈥檛 have universities in our community, we had tremendous partnerships with community colleges and universities in our state, and across the country. I鈥檇 spent a number of years serving on the Oregon Teacher Standards and Practices Commission and had an extensive list of experts willing to help us think through creative solutions for licensure. Our staff was also incredibly open to innovative approaches and many were willing to help redesign our system to ensure it was better equipped to meet the new reality we faced.

Together, we鈥檝e built an extensive support network that involves a high school grow your own program, a paraeducator support system, and early placement in classrooms through restricted substitute and emergency licenses. This system has us heading into the 2025-26 school year fully staffed, with a candidate pool ready for any openings.

Our "grow your own" initiative begins in high school, offering various entry points for students interested in education. We cover the full cost of an Associate of Arts Transfer (AAOT) degree, which students can earn concurrently with their high school diploma. Students can pursue other fields with this degree, but those who enroll in the teaching program at Eastern Oregon University (EOU) can return to our school system, fully employed, in less than two years.

Thanks to this option, many of our first year teachers have been just twenty years old when they鈥檝e started leading their own classrooms as teachers. Five of our eleven Spanish-speaking teachers in the dual language immersion program are alumni, adding meaningful layers to relationships.

For example, Ms. Escamilla, now a bilingual kindergarten teacher, was once an ESL student in her principal Mrs. Coyle鈥檚 classroom. It鈥檚 inspiring to see former students return as teachers and role models for the next generation.

Hands-On Experience for Future Teachers

Beyond the AAOT/EOU option, students can take an Introduction to Education class at the high school, which includes classroom experiences and college credit. Internships are available in our after-school program, and successful interns are eligible for employment.

Many of our current teachers started their careers with us while still in high school, working in the after-school program. These opportunities allow students to test out teaching, gaining classroom experience, degrees, and mentors for their next steps. We hope those next steps lead them back to the Umatilla School District (Ore.).

Paraeducators often work with our most vulnerable students, yet they've historically been undertrained and unsupported. We addressed this by adding a Paraprofessional Coach, Teresa Russell, to our Instructional Coaching team. A former paraeducator turned teacher herself, Teresa designed a paraprofessional certification program for our district. 

This program ensures our paraeducators receive comprehensive training, ongoing professional development, and mentoring, with opportunities to earn degrees and become classroom teachers. 

Christi Pankratz started as an active parent, became a paraeducator, pursued her bachelor's and master's degrees to become a special education teacher. She was supported through her process with classroom experiences and schedule flexibility to allow for her practicum courses. She was hired early through emergency and restricted substitute licenses and is now a fully certified and highly effective special education teacher.

Utilizing Alternative Pathways 

Utilizing alternative licenses has been crucial for staffing. We employ full-time roaming substitute teachers, often on restricted or emergency licenses, allowing them to complete their degrees while gaining vital classroom experience. Many were exceptional paraeducators ready for more responsibility, or individuals with bachelor's degrees in other fields exploring teaching before managing their own classrooms. 

Our shared commitment to adult growth, student consistency, and increased system capacity has shown us that substitute shortages and unfilled teaching roles are not inevitable in public education.

Additionally, we obtain restricted substitute licenses for many of our paraeducators, enabling them to substitute when their supervising teacher is absent. This provides students with consistent expectations and experience, while offering paraeducators increased pay and responsibility.

Looking Ahead

No system is perfect, and we continue to face challenges. However, our shared commitment to adult growth, student consistency, and increased system capacity has shown us that substitute shortages and unfilled teaching roles are not inevitable in public education. 

We are proud of our work, grateful for the staff we've supported, and look forward to continuing to build a responsive system that serves our students.