NEWS

Teacher preparation program selects WCC as top community college partner

The Aspiring Educators of Michigan is a WCC student-led club that helps and provides education majors resources to help them become future leaders and teachers. Currently it is being led by (left) Emily Tebbetts, social media ambassador, Violet Andrade, community liaison, Sean Doran treasurer, Aiden Gego president, Hannah Wiles vice president, and Ava Nelson ambassador. Courtney Prielipp | The Washtenaw Voice

Yana McGuire

Staff Writer

Washtenaw Community College has been selected as the premiere community college to help address the teacher shortage in Michigan by Talent Together, a “grow your own” teacher preparation program.

The partnership will help K-12 teacher candidates gain a bachelor’s degree and teaching certification by offering free college tuition and fees. It also offers degrees that can be obtained solely online to allow them to earn a living as a school district employee while attending college.

There are three key reasons why WCC stood out from other community colleges, according to Brandon Tucker, WCC executive vice president for instruction.

“They [Talent Together] recognized that not only do we have talented faculty, but we have a history.” Tucker said. “[We have] many years of preparing the next generation of teachers and early childhood educators. Thirdly, it would be our online presence.”

In addition, Eastern’s transfer partnership with WCC allows all credits earned to be transferable and makes tuition cost-efficient.

“Eastern is our leading transfer partner,” Tucker said. “That also makes us a strong partner for the initiative because we literally have one of the best teacher education program transfer partners in the state. For many decades, Eastern has been known as a teacher’s school.”

1,768 teaching positions were vacant during the 2022-2023 school year, according to the 2024 Michigan Teacher Shortage Study by the Education Policy Innovation Collaborative at Michigan State University.

“We are a community college, so, by design, we’re going to always address the needs of the community,” Tucker said. “We know teachers are needed here. So, being able to support that need by fueling the talent pipeline with passionate and prepared teachers, we are right within our mission. That is what makes it [the partnership] so great.”

During the Fall 2024 semester, the partnership pilot program enrolled 16 teacher candidates in WCC courses.

Sierra Pauley, paraprofessional at Childs Elementary School in Ypsilanti was one of those students. Experiencing the effects of the teacher shortage firsthand, Pauley jumped on the chance to help provide quality education to the youth.

“You have to think like the parents are trusting us to be with their children so long every day. And that is such a huge responsibility and an honor,” Pauley said.

A responsibility Pauley does not take lightly. She believes gaining the knowledge to properly instruct her future students is important. However, her quest to learn what it takes to be an amazing teacher is what made her decide to apply to the program.

Despite being suspicious of online learning initially, Pauley has enjoyed her first semester and looks forward to Winter 2025.

“I feel very happy with my classes,” Pauley said. “I was worried about going into an entirely online format. I felt like it was either going to be too hard or a watered-down version of the courses. I don’t feel either one of those is true.”

During Winter 2025, 50 accepted teacher candidates are expected to register at WCC.

If you are interested in learning more about the program, please visit www.mitalenttogether.org/.