Recruitment and Retention Initiatives to Offset Utah Teacher Shortages

Alternative Routes to Licensure (ARL) is a teacher preparation program for individuals who currently hold a bachelor’s degree or higher.  ARL allows participants to teach in an accredited Utah school on a temporary license for up to three years while they are fulfilling licensure requirements. Participants must be employed by a Utah school district, charter school, or accredited private or parochial school while earning a license and must be teaching in a licensed position at the time a license is earned and issued.

Return to Licensure was initiated by the legislature and established as Board Rule as a means for capturing a group of experienced educators back into the teaching profession.  These teachers need to meet the same standards as teachers new to the profession but can earn their way back to licensure while employed in a teaching position.  The educator and their administrator co-develop a plan to help them close any teaching gaps that exist due to time away from the classroom.

Para-Educator to Teacher Scholarship is a new initiative established by the legislature to provide a scholarship for para educators who work directly with instruction of students in high poverty schools to complete a teaching degree.  The appropriation for this year is $25,000 which will provide funding for one year for 17 recipients.

TH Bell Incentive Loan (see back of handout) is funded by the Utah State Legislature. TIL recipients are required to pursue an educator preparation program, obtain educator licensing, and then teach in Utah public schools for a period equal to the time they received assistance. The TIL consists of a waiver (of tuition and fees at the Utah public institutions and $995.00 per semester at private institutions) to be used for a period not exceeding 8 semesters. The program is jointly administered by the State Board of Education and the State Board of Regents.

The Public Education Job Enhancement Program (PJEP) was established to attract, train, and retain teachers in Special Education (PreK-12) and secondary school educators (7-12) in math, physics, chemistry, physical science, information technology, and learning technology.  The funding is utilized by educators and district/charters to provide signing bonuses in these areas as well as providing funding for advanced degrees.

Expanding Recruitment Borders – Districts/charters are expanding their recruiting services beyond Utah borders.  Several states are producing a surplus of teachers due to teacher colleges’ production of candidates and declining school population.  International guest teacher programs are not intended to fill teacher shortages but rather provide an enhanced cultural experience for Utah students along with specialized instruction in a language by native speakers.

Teachers.Teachers.com – USOE has determined that one online portal for teacher applications across the state will enhance the recruitment process.  All districts and many charters are currently using this service to advertise and collect applications for interested candidates across the country.

Visit our website at http://www.schools.utah.gov/cert to learn more about these programs.