DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Local school districts are finding new ways to fill spots during a major teacher shortage. Volusia, Brevard, and Flagler counties are now working with Daytona State College to get district employees who want to teach their bachelor’s degrees.
These could be teacher’s assistants, custodians, even lunch workers, who would become teachers and in turn, help the districts fill teacher vacancies.
The district employees have to have an associate’s degree and have a few prerequisites under their belt to apply. Then, when they’re accepted, they’ll take classes at Daytona State for their bachelor’s degree and become a teacher after two years.
The biggest incentive, though, is the tuition and costs are completely covered by a statewide grant.
“All but for that bachelor’s degree by life or by finances that they’ve not been able to obtain, this now opens up and removes that barrier where they can proceed to pursue their desire to teach,” said Tiffany Fuller, Volusia’s Recruitment and Retention coordinator.
Fuller said while the employee is getting their degree, they’ll also be in a classroom shadowing a certified teacher.
“These are persons who are already working in some capacity in education, they’re working with students, they know the school schedule, they know the systems and structures,” she said.
Volusia County Schools said it’s had over 100 employees ask to apply so far.
Brevard Public Schools said it’s had over 200 employees express interest and are currently going through the process to see if they qualify.
“We’ve had bookkeepers, school secretaries, folks who work in our cafeterias, up here at the district offices, instructional assistants, you name it,” said Bobby Pruett, Brevard’s director for Professional Learning and Development.
Pruett called it a game changer for recruiting teachers, which has become increasingly more difficult with the national shortage.
“We’re the largest employer here like most school districts are in their county and to have a pool of candidates that we can start recruiting from and talking to and offering this awesome opportunity to really, it’s a win-win,” he said.
Those employees who apply right now and are accepted will start their classes at Daytona State and be in their district classroom in August for the start of the school year.
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