As the state proposes changes to teacher licenses, the Dean Of Tech’s School of Education said the impact will be minimal in addressing the teacher shortage.
The Tennessee Department of Education wants to create a new “Limited Occupational License,” which will allow Industry professionals to teach in their respective field without a traditional education degree. Tennessee Tech’s Lisa Zagumny.
“These are not necessarily where those shortages are,” Zagumny said. “We may have a few spots here and there, but this is not the mass of the shortage if you will. So, and the current legislation we have for CTE doesn’t require a traditional education degree anyway.”
The state also plans to increase the number of years before a teaching license has to be renewed. Zagumny said that will help, but will not help as much as recruiting more people into the teaching profession.
“Some sort of public service announcement or campaign to say, come into the profession of teaching, there’s no greater way to make an impact on your community,” Zagumny said. “And to talk to students in middle school and high school who think they would be interested in teaching, or that teachers know they would be a great teacher. Let’s talk to those students and get them into a classroom at Tennessee Tech so that they can see what we do in teacher education.”
Zagumny said the Upper Cumberland is seeing a similar teacher shortage compared to the rest of the state.
“We are in daily contact with our directors and our principals at our schools, and our primary partners, and our 64 districts across the state that we work with, and we hear regularly that they need this teacher or that teacher. And historically it’s been science, or math, or special education, but now we are hearing that they need a fourth-grade teacher or a third-grade teacher.”
The Tennessee Department of Education will vote to approve the changes on November 21.
