New campaign to attract qualified teachers to Calif.

In its first major push to solve California’s teacher shortage, the California Center on Teaching Careers (the Center), in partnership with TEACH and the Ad Council, has released a series of public service advertisements (PSAS) designed to attract more candidates to the teaching profession.

In a comprehensive campaign spanning TV, radio and social media, the PSAS will reach audiences across California to demonstrate the benefits of teaching through storytelling.

“We need to continue to change public perception of the teaching profession,” said Donna Glassman-sommer, executive director of the Center. “Leading a 21st century classroom is an incredibly engaging, dynamic and rewarding career opportunity, with plenty of room to be creative and inspire real change. By showing compelling examples and encouraging teachers to share their own stories, our goal is to start a dialogue about what being a teacher is really all about.”

Enrollment in teacher preparation programs in California remains near historic lows, underscoring the need to attract more teachers to the profession and support them through the credentialing process.

Approximately 75 percent of California districts reported having a shortage of qualified teachers for the 2016-17 school year, particularly in math, science, bilingual and special education.

The campaign is part of the Center’s work to alleviate the teacher shortage. Recently launched with support from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) and the state legislature, the Center is working in eight regions across the state to attract new teachers and help place and retain them in classrooms.

“The Center is addressing the teacher shortage head-on with new, creative approaches,” said Mary Vixie Sandy, executive director of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. “This PSA campaign is just one piece of their overall work to attract more teachers and elevate the profession, and we’re excited about its potential to lead more people to seriously consider teaching as a career.”

The targeted, statewide campaign will continue through 2018. Each PSA in the campaign presents an exciting story of how a teacher found an innovative way to reach their students and help them understand the material at hand.

The PSA campaign will directly lead candidates to the Center’s online personalized, virtual tool for finding information on different teaching pathways and enrolling in programs. Found at www.californiateach.org, the tool will heavily support interested candidates in entering the profession.

The PSA videos can be viewed at: http://bit.ly/Cacentervideos.