Title
Recruiting Industry Professionals for the Classroom - A District’s Approach
Session Code
2124
Venue
Phoenix Convention Center
Room
231 C
Description
Recruiting high-quality instructors from industry for our CTE classrooms is an ongoing challenge. We compete with higher industry wages, often combat a negative reputation for the education profession, and in some states require industry professionals to go back to school, at their own expense, to now learn the ‘Art of Teaching’. Tennessee has recognized these challenges and made strides to ease the transition for instructors from the workplace to the classroom. You will learn how TN educator licensure and rules impact the CTE instructors’ path into the classroom. Furthermore, federal grant money was made available to districts to develop their own LEA-based Educator Preparation Programs. You will hear about one example, the Knox County Schools EPP, which went through the rigorous accreditation process to become a state-approved licensing program, about the successes it has seen already, and about the hurdles it is still tackling.