Wisconsin’s new teacher apprenticeship program aims to address educator shortage

Growing up, Matthew Jacobson always wanted to be a teacher.

The oldest kid in his family, he often found himself teaching his younger sister and cousins new games or lessons. In middle school, Jacobson was eager to learn in his history class. The teacher offered him extra work and had him help with the lesson plans. Eventually, that teacher told Jacobson he should become a teacher himself.

But after he graduated from high school in 2023, there wasn’t a clear path for him to become a teacher. He moved out of his parents’ house to live on his own right away, renting an apartment with a friend, and started working as a cook at a nearby hospital. He couldn’t afford a four-year degree, and he didn’t want to take out a loan.

Things changed last August, though, when Jacobson received an email from Amie Farley, the director of a program called College, Career and Life Readiness in the Elmbrook School District, his old school district. Farley told Jacobson that the state was launching a new pilot teacher apprenticeship program that would allow students to pursue a teaching degree while getting hands-on experience. She told Jacobson that he would be perfect for the program.

“This was built for me,” Jacobson said he remembers feeling after getting the email.

Gov. Tony Evers declared 2024 the Year of the Worker in an effort to grow Wisconsin’s workforce. During the year, the Evers administration launched a task force to support health care workers, secured a designation as a U.S. Regional Tech Hub, and created new options for youth apprenticeships in industries such as early childhood education and fire protection. The state also had seven consecutive months of historically high employment and record-high enrollment in apprenticeship programs in 2024.

The new teacher apprenticeship program was also part of the Year of the Worker efforts, aimed at creating more pathways for people to become teachers as the state experiences a massive teacher shortage and a decline in students pursuing teaching degrees.

The pilot program allows apprentices to work in elementary and middle schools, earning income and getting hands-on experience, while working towards their degree. The students first receive an associate degree from the Wisconsin Technical College System, and then a bachelor’s degree from Lakeland University, which typically takes four years to complete. The Elmbrook School District is covering Jacobson’s tuition with a scholarship, and it’s connected him with a teacher in the district who is mentoring him.

When Elmbrook Schools decided to participate in the pilot program, Farley said, they didn’t know who they’d attract, because there can be so many barriers to pursuing college or a career. Maybe a parent would be interested, she thought, or someone starting a second career or who couldn’t afford college earlier in life.

Every day is different for Jacobson, and it’s not always easy to juggle everything. He works with a variety of grade levels and subjects every day, and he’s able to tailor what he does at school to what he’s learning in his college courses. Then, in the evenings, he attends his college classes in person or works on homework. He can sometimes squeeze in homework during his lunch hour or during release times.

Getting hands-on experience early on in his education has helped reaffirm for Jacobson that teaching is what he wants to do. He enjoys connecting with students, helping them reach an “aha” moment when they figure out a tough math problem, or bonding with them over their favorite bands. The teachers at Elmbrook that work with him often tell him he’ll be the most prepared teacher, because he’s already working through real-life situations in the schools.

Farley said the program has been a success so far and is helping fill gaps in a necessary profession. She said that it could help bring more diverse teachers into the classroom. She hopes the program continues and grows, but noted that funding and support from the state Legislature will be important.

“I think an apprenticeship program in teaching is so important because I think that it’s one of the most important professions that makes all other professions, and so having high-quality people in that profession is really important,” Farley said.

Jacobson said the apprenticeship program is important for the state because it creates more access for people like him at a time when the state desperately needs more educators.

“We need teachers. That’s the most important part, because we just need teachers, and this creates a whole other pipeline, a whole other avenue for teachers to get into the field,” Jacobson said.

After he earns his degree, Jacobson said he hopes to get a job as a teacher in the Elmbrook School District. While he had always dreamed of being a history teacher, the apprenticeship program has helped him realize he enjoys teaching other subjects and at many grade levels, too. He said he’d be happy to fill any open teaching position that was available.

“Being at my cook job, I was not very happy. I mean, I was surviving and making money and living, but I wasn’t very happy with what I was doing,” Jacobson said. “But now I feel much more … like, Oh, I’m doing what I was meant to do, or I feel good doing this, and I want to put effort in.”