"I want to be someone who can connect students to the idea that learning is fun, too."
A new program at Francis Tuttle Technology Center provides a path to education careers at an important time for the workforce.
Starting this fall, high school students are spending all or part of their day taking their first steps toward a teaching job in Teacher Preparation. It’s the first time Francis Tuttle has offered this course as a Career Training Program.
“Oklahoma is facing a critical shortage of teachers, and we need to inspire more students to pursue a career in education,” Janet Harris, Instructor for the Teacher Preparation program, said.
Upon completing the program, students will be ready to take the Paraprofessional Certification or the ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certification. This will allow high school students to begin working in a classroom setting right after graduation and give them an advantage in being accepted to a college education program.
“For me, I know what I want to do,” Teacher Prep student Kaydence Botello said. “So I just need to know how do I get there.”
In the classroom, students learn about the fundamental aspects of effective teaching. They practice effective communication, learn the developmental stages, focus on classroom management and building a classroom culture, and how to develop strategic lesson planning.
“This class helps me learn how to be in a professional environment,” student Sekyia Williams said.
Furthermore, Harris cleverly leverages the daily presence of teachers in her students’ lives as a powerful asset. Before completing the program, students will also spend time at an elementary or middle school within their school district to shadow and assist a cooperating teacher.
At the start of the 2024 academic year, several OKC metro school districts reported vacancies in teaching positions. Moreover, new teachers across the country have reported feeling prepared regarding lesson planning and curriculum but less prepared in areas such as data analysis and building student-parent-teacher relationships.
Teacher Prep helps establish the basic teaching knowledge, so students can focus on those more difficult aspects later. The program's goal is not only to guide them to a certification that can get them a job right out of high school, but also to improve workforce readiness so they can embrace the challenges of becoming educators.
“I’m inspired by seeing that mediator in action,” student Emma Rivas said. “And it’s like, wow, I want to be that. I want to be someone who can connect students to the idea that learning is fun, too. You’ve just got to try.”