The Caddo Parish School District has launched an in-house teacher certification program to address a teacher shortage. It’s one of two districts in the state to create a year-long program that will credential select district employees.
Caddo Schools chief academic officer Keith Burton says he must retain about 3,500 teachers serving the district’s 41,000 students. The new Caddo Teacher Academy is training 12 new ones.
“They’ve shown at the frontend of the program they have the abilities, the intelligence, and base knowledge -- soft skills necessary to be successful. We’re going to provide them the specific training they need in the area of curriculum, pedagogy and assessment. Then, they’re going to begin instruction with a successful teacher,” Burton said.
In August, each will be paired with a mentor teacher and content coaches as they carry out a nine-month internship teaching assignment. Academy participant Kinda Kilgore of Shreveport holds two master’s degrees. She’s been a substitute teacher for nine years. Her teaching assignment is 7th grade English Language Arts, and she’s thrilled.
“I know that with a mentor I will learn all the ins and outs that I may not have seen or known as a substitute teacher. Therefore, I believe that this is completely the right step,” Kilgore said.
Paraprofessional Teresa Williams made a career change when Johnson Controls closed. She had worked on the assembly line building seats for GM vehicles. She’ll be teaching fifth grade English Language Arts at Queensborough Elementary where she’s developed a rapport with the students there over the past few years.
“It’s rigorous, but they’re giving us everything we need. It’s fast paced, a lot of information is coming at us, but it’s what we need. Throughout the year they’ll come into [my classroom] to assist us and monitor us,” Williams said.
Burton says the teacher shortage is a nationwide problem. This academy is meant to be one tool to recruit and retain teachers in hard-to-fill disciplines.
“We simply could not fill the high needs of mathematics, science, and special education. We wanted to think creatively of ways that we could do that,” Burton said.
Only current Caddo district employees who have worked as teacher substitutes, paraprofessionals and clerical staff were considered in the first year. The academy is made possible through a grant from the state education department.
