Leading the way

State addressing teacher shortage

Sometimes the best way to appreciate Arkansas is to leave Arkansas. That thought has been top of mind for us after we visited Charlotte, N.C., recently to speak at the Southern Education Foundation conference. Amid a few hundred elected officials, academics, and educators from across the South, the three of us were the only attendees representing Arkansas. We proudly shared our story about how Arkansas is becoming a national leader in developing teachers and school administrators.

We’ve been doing this work for years, and we’ve focused on continuously improving our programs and serving the students in our classroom. John leads the IMPACT Fellowship for school leaders, Brandon leads the Arkansas Teacher Corps, and TyKesha teaches in the

Pine Bluff School District. We’ve tended to keep our heads down.

But when we took a trip out of Arkansas to share what we’ve learned, we saw how much our local experience resonated with educators and policymakers from other states. Like us, they’re trying to expand the pipeline for teachers and administrators, and they’re keen to understand how we’ve made the progress we’ve achieved.

There is a good reason for their interest. Across Arkansas and the United States, there are teacher shortages in certain geographies and in certain subject areas. There is also the matter of licensing. As of 2021, the percentage of uncertified teachers in Arkansas (approximately 4) was more than double the national average (1.7), and 30 districts had a workforce with at least 10 percent uncertified teachers.

What’s more, the United States continues to struggle with recruiting and retaining an educator workforce that reflects its student body. Nationally, approximately 80 percent of teachers are white and female, whereas more than half of public school students are children of color.

Here in Arkansas, we are working to address both challenges. Through a variety of programs targeting potential educators, Arkansas is cultivating homegrown solutions that represent the communities they serve and broaden teacher and administrator pipelines. Because we are helping communities develop their own teachers and principals, students are benefiting from interacting with educators who have similar life experiences.

Consider a few examples. The Arkansas Teacher Corps, which recruits, trains, and supports educators, is serving its largest cohort ever in 2023-24. More than 75 percent of this new cohort identifies as people of color. One of its alumni, TyKesha, even was featured on “The Today Show” earlier this year.

Last year, Reach University received an $8 million federal grant to more than double the number of fully certified teachers it will place in high-needs Arkansas classrooms, and Forward Arkansas awarded $3.6 million to two universities that committed to radically rethink their educator preparation programs. This year, the Arkansas Public School Resource Center received a $5.5 million federal grant to eliminate teacher shortages by providing opportunities for career advancement, leadership, and pay increases.

At the administrator level, IMPACT Arkansas Fellowship now has more than 140 alumni who represent more than half of all low-income districts in the state.

Given all of this activity, it’s not surprising that enrollment in Arkansas educator preparation programs is up more than 11 percent over the last five years, whereas the national average is up 0.1 percent.

The wind is at these programs’ backs, especially with the LEARNS Act boosting the state’s starting teacher salary ($50,000) to what may be the highest in the country when you factor in the cost of living.

All told, Arkansas is quickly becoming a national leader in educator recruitment and retention. This progress runs contrary to the typical, tired narrative about Arkansas when it comes to education, but it’s hardearned, and it’s true.

Believe it, and join us.

John Bacon is executive director of IMPACT Arkansas Principal Fellowship Program and was formerly CEO of eStem Public Charter Schools in Little Rock. TyKesha L. Cross is a career and technical educational instructor for Pine Bluff School District in Pine Bluff. Brandon Licus is executive director of Arkansas Teacher Corps, a program of the University of Arkansas.