NORTH PORT, Fla. — A new teacher apprenticeship program at Florida SouthWestern State College (FSW) is helping address Florida's teacher shortage by providing hands-on classroom experience for aspiring educators.
The program, created through House Bill 1035 passed by state lawmakers two years ago, matches paraprofessional educators with experienced teachers for two years of hands-on training.
Go inside FSW's Teacher Apprenticeship Program as educators prepare for the first day of class:
Sarah Kugel is one of those apprentices, working alongside veteran Kindergarten teacher Kelly Shellhaas at Imagine Schools at North Port.
"I love making a difference in kid's lives, and being like 'oh, I taught them that, or we did this together'" Kugel said. "I just think seeing the progress from the beginning of the year...what you can help somebody accomplish."
After high school, Kugel earned an associate education degree from Florida SouthWestern.
"And then I guess life happened," she said.
Kugel started a family, temporarily putting her teaching dreams on hold. Kugel eventually became a teacher's aide for Sarasota County Schools and started applying for college again.
But many of the schools Kugel applied to wouldn't accept all of her credits, she said. Kugel applied to almost a dozen different programs both online and locally.
"Every time I went to apply somewhere I was just discouraged," Kugel said.
That changed when lawmakers allocated money for the Teacher Apprenticeship Program. The Florida Department of Education provides funding for colleges like Florida SouthWestern to match paraprofessionals with experienced teachers.
The program is rolled out in 15 different districts around the state, including at North Port Imagine. Right now, it's the only Teacher Apprenticeship Program in Southwest Florida.
It is targeted at paraprofessionals, or teacher's aides, who already have an associate degree in education.
"They have a commitment to the schools, they have a commitment to our community, most importantly they have a commitment to our students," said April Fleming, dean of the School of Education and Charter Schools at FSW.
"But, they have reached some barriers along the way that have prevented them from reaching their ultimate goal," said Fleming.
Fleming explains that students work with full-time teachers for two years and then earn a bachelor's degree in elementary education at no cost.
Shellhaas said college prepares teachers how to deal with administrative tasks, but not necessarily the day-to-day of running a classroom. She said this program is a great opportunity for apprentices to get a real sense for the job.
"The college experience teaches you the paperwork aspect of lesson plans and curriculum but it doesn't teach about the day-to-day," Shellhaas said. "Set up, planning, differentiation, reading the needs of the students, so I feel like having this, now in-job training on the spot, is a wonderful experience."
There are four apprentices in the program, Fleming said, all with associate degrees. Three of the apprentices are at Imagine North Port and One is at Imagine Kissimmee.
"They're fully prepared when they come out of college to take over a classroom by themselves," Fleming said.
The program comes as Florida works to fill a teacher shortage. In January, the Florida Education Association reported just over 3,000 teacher openings statewide, down from about 4,000 last year.
North Port Imagine's principal, Aleischa Coover, acknowledges the challenges of finding people for teaching positions.
"It's really challenging, especially right now..." Coover said. "Teaching can feel a little lonely,"
For Kugel, the opportunity to learn through hands-on experience is invaluable.
"Your best chance at success is doing it yourself, and learning, and I get two years to do that," she said.
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