April 4, 2023

Saginaw Public Schools has created a new apprenticeship program, "Grow Your Own," to address and replenish the local teacher shortage. 

Saginaw Public Schools and Saginaw Intermediate School District are partnering with Delta College, Saginaw Valley State University, and the Department of Labor to fill teacher vacancies with skilled educators – a reflection of a nationwide shortage.

The programs encourage individuals already working in the school district to pursue formal educational training and return to begin teaching. One hundred percent of the funding is possible through grants – eliminating tuition, books, or fees for individuals in the program.

“With the apprenticeship program it will allow for us to take our own staff that are teacher aides and other support staff that currently already work for the district and train them to become certified teachers,” Tiffany Pruitt, executive director of human resources of labors relations, told WNEM. 

“Grow Your Own” consists of two pathways: one for individuals with a high school diploma to attend Delta College and the other for individuals with an associate degree or college credits to attend Saginaw Valley State University.

The program ranges from one to five years, depending on current educational level, with a progressive wage scale incentive that allows them to earn money as they learn. Pruitt is confident in recruiting and retaining teachers to close academic gaps that impact students due to the individuals who’ve “made a commitment to the district.”

“Some of them have been here ten years or more,” Pruitt said. “So, I know they want to be here for our children, and they care about Saginaw Public Schools and are also vested in our community.”

According to The National Center of Education Statistics’ (NCES) School Pulse Panel survey, 45 percent of public schools had at least one vacant teaching position.

By Ashley Terrell, Writer