Dept. of Education passes new option to address teacher shortage

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - This week, the Kentucky Professional Standards Board with the Kentucky Department of Education, approved an emergency regulation alternative route to teaching certification.

It is a new route, called Option 9, that is available to candidates who have not obtained a bachelor’s degree and will not allow for temporary or provisional certification while completing the route.

Here is information from the Department of Education on exactly how this will work:

Under Option 9, an EPSB-approved college or university may partner with a school district or educational cooperative to develop an expedited certification program that results in a bachelor’s degree and initial teaching certification within three school years. The program must:

• Include a residency or paraprofessional component which employs the person within the participating district to gain work experience;
• Use experienced teachers employed by the district to provide coaching and mentorship; and
• Be designed to meet the needs of the participating district and may include an emphasis on developing a teacher pipeline for the district’s students, improving the numbers of underrepresented populations among the district’s workforce or focusing on increasing the number of teachers with certification areas that are in high demand.

Wednesday, JCPS Superintendent Dr. Marty Pollio addressed the teacher shortage, saying that any option at this point could be a good option.

“It is a crisis that will compound over the next decade and beyond,” Pollio said. “And it will only get worse from this point forward.”

Pollio said JCPS works to hire 400-500 new teachers a year, but they compete with other districts across the country for the same qualified candidates.

“We just do not have math teachers applying for jobs. Science teachers are not applying for jobs anywhere. And that’s a real problem. But it’s an even bigger problem in our high poverty schools,” Pollio said. “I hope it’s not too late, I really do, we’re being proactive about it like many districts are, but the challenge is real.”

JCPS currently has 154 alternative certification teachers in schools right now.

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