David Stofer, recruitment coordinator for the UMSL College of Education, mingles with attendees during last week’s Professional Learning and Innovation Partnership Breakfast. The event was an opportunity to celebrate UMSL’s partners and inform them about the college’s flexible teacher certification programs. (Photos by Derik Holtmann)

As the morning sun streamed into the ED Collabitat on the University of Missouri–St. Louis’ South Campus last Friday, educators from across the state gathered for the second annual Professional Learning and Innovation Partnership Breakfast.

Approximately 50 educators and UMSL staff and faculty mingled and filled their plates at a breakfast buffet before the event got underway. David Stofer, recruitment coordinator for the UMSL College of Education, said it was an opportunity to celebrate the college’s partners and inform them about its flexible teacher certification programs.

“We’ve been developing partnerships with local districts to find pathways to ‘Grow Your Own,’ in terms of finding ways within the districts to bring people into the profession and become teachers,” Stofer said. “That ranges from paraprofessionals to long-term subs. These are all people coming from many, many different places in life that just never got their certification, but they want to.”

The College of Education offers an array of alternative teacher certification programs to empower individuals to enter the teaching profession. Stofer estimates UMSL is currently partnering with more than 100 school districts between all the programs.

One of the most popular avenues is the Teach in Residency program. It’s aimed at individuals with bachelor’s degrees who want to teach full-time while earning their teaching certification. Candidates teach for two years in an urban public school or public charter school with provisional certification, and during this time, UMSL provides the necessary coursework to earn full certification. There is also an option to take additional classes to earn a master’s degree.

Stephanie Koscielski speaks about the state’s teacher shortage during the partnership breakfast.

Another option is the Teach in 12 program. It also caters to individuals who have already earned a bachelor’s degree. It’s designed to be completed in about three semesters, with teacher candidates entering the classroom by the second semester. Most people earn their certification in 12 to 15 months.

The Finish Line Teaching Apprenticeship program is one of the newest offerings. The Department of Labor has partnered with UMSL to offer a three-year program to earn a bachelor’s degree and certification while working as school support staff. It’s geared toward paraprofessionals, long-term substitute teachers and teacher aides. Key components of the apprenticeship include a paid position with a local school district, mentorship and provisional teacher certification by the third year of the program.

The day’s programming began with opening remarks from Stofer and Interim Dean Nancy Singer. After their welcoming words, Senior Director of Clinical Experience and School Partnerships Stephanie Koscielski took the floor to discuss Missouri’s education landscape and staffing needs across the state. Koscielski told the crowd that Missouri has a shortage of about 3,500 teachers, and UMSL is striving to help fill those positions and meet those needs.

“We want to make sure our partners know we’re being responsive,” she said. “We want to make sure they know how to access our programs, who to contact and the ways that we will support them in lessening the teacher shortage with our programs.”

Next, the crowd heard from several speakers who went into more details about UMSL’s programs. Stofer and Director of Teacher Education Julie Smith Sodey touched on the ways the university is encouraging high school students to think about careers in education.

Smith Sodey highlighted the Advanced Credit Program, which offers high schoolers the opportunity to earn college credit in three core education courses, and Stofer emphasized the Future Teacher Leadership Academy. The latter is a two-week summer program, where high schoolers from across the St. Louis region come together to earn college credit, develop professional skills and explore a potential teaching career.

“They enroll in Teach Ed 2000, which is Becoming a Professional Educator,” Stofer explained. “It’s a class that’s required by all of our undergraduate students, and they engage with a faculty member from 9 to 10:30 every morning of those eight days, and when they finish, they will have accumulated one college credit that will be on their transcript for the rest of their lives.”

Director of Project and Program Operations Chanua Ross and Academic Advisor Jayne Howard spoke about the ins and outs of apprenticeship and the Finish Line program, while Academic Advisor and Program Support Coordinator Cassi Sweeney spoke about the Teach in Residency program.

The event concluded with a panel discussion, including Beth Davey, Grow Your Own coordinator for St. Louis Public Schools; Evelyn Woods, director of human resources for the Hazelwood School District; James McHaffie, director of apprenticeships for the Fort Zumwalt School District; Susan Marino, executive director of UMSL Charter Schools; and Sweeney.

Davey offered her perspective on working with UMSL. She lauded the supportive nature of the Teach in Residency program and the impact it has made at SLPS.

“Something I’m really grateful about this partnership in particular is the one-on-one context and the one-on-one contact we have had over the past five years,” she said. “The care that is provided by this program, but also the ability to find those career changers, has been truly instrumental in making sure that we can provide those high-quality, culturally competent educators in every classroom.

“Something I’m really grateful for in this partnership is the fact that it is people-based. We know as teachers, we know as district leaders, that the work cannot happen without those relationships. It is incredibly evident that the UMSL team cares about our teachers, which means they care about our kids.”

Michelle Prather, a teacher in residency mentor and recruitment coach at the Hazelwood School District, attended the event and concurred with Davey.

“It’s the people aspect of it,” she said. “They’re very nurturing, and they want success for their teachers.”