More than 130 teacher apprenticeships to open across Nebraska with new $6 million grant
Mike Keller loved working as a kitchen manager in the Westside Community Schools, but eventually he desired more — he wanted to make more of an impact on students in the classroom.
Two years ago, Keller transitioned from his decade-long job in the cafeteria to a classroom position when the district launched its "grow our own" program , which provided a select few paraprofessionals free college tuition to get a teaching degree.
He's now finishing his degree as a teacher apprentice after the program merged into a new statewide initiative, the Nebraska Teacher Apprenticeship Program.
"I love working with the kids. I'd work 6:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. every day, but as far as the actual student interaction, I would only get maybe 45 to 50 minutes a day, and each kid it was like 30 to 40 seconds," Keller said. "So I found myself not wanting to cook as much, or do my actual job, because I would rather hang out in the gym and learn from the kids."
In a Wednesday press conference, the Nebraska Department of Education and Gov. Jim Pillen announced that the Nebraska Teacher Apprenticeship Program received a $6 million federal grant to expand the program across the state.
Last year, lawmakers allocated $1 million to pilot the program in three districts that already had existing "grow your own" programs: Westside, North Platte and Lincoln. The districts paired up with local universities to offer free tuition for participants.
Over the next three years, the new federal funding will give $2 million annually to eight colleges to help apprentices get teaching certificates in more than 19 school districts. The program will include roughly 130 apprentices across the state, with almost half located in the metro area.
Andrea Haynes, Westside's assistant superintendent, said the apprenticeship program is different from the district's previous "grow our own" program. It provides hands-on training, allowing apprentices to work alongside their supervising teachers directly in the classroom while they receive their degree.
"Competencies and standards can be met while they're on the job, in the classroom," Haynes said. "They'll still be in classes, taking coursework, working with professors and instructors. We're excited to do that and continue to learn from the other districts that are also doing this now and really collaborate and grow the program across the state."
Haynes said Westside's pilot of the apprenticeship program was very successful, with all participants maintaining an "A" grade and 98% attendance in college courses.
"We now have so many Westside teachers who want to host apprentices," she said. "They want to be a part of this transformational effort to address shortages."
The apprenticeship program was created to address Nebraska's continuing educator shortage that's only worsened since the pandemic.
The latest teacher vacancy data from the Nebraska Department of Education shows that the number of unfilled teaching positions across the state increased in the 2023-24 school year from the previous year. Department officials said Wednesday that unreleased data from this year's teacher vacancy report shows this trend continuing.
"Our 25,000 public and non-public school teachers are the backbone of education in this state, and this innovative program continues to focus on quality partnerships to build a robust educator pipeline now and into the future," said Brian Maher, Nebraska's education commissioner.
Pillen also signed a proclamation Wednesday recognizing the week of Nov. 17 as National Apprenticeship Week in Nebraska.
"This is really a big deal. I'm a believer that by working together that we can figure things out, systemwide, and make sure our teachers do better long-term," Pillen said. "These are tremendous opportunities for people to answer the calling of public service to make a difference for our kids, and it's a step in the right direction."
Keller said he wasn't ready to be a classroom teacher when he graduated from college. He said he became a coach and eventually a kitchen employee at Westside once he was prepared for the career change.
He took three classes over the summer with Midland University and is currently taking six classes along with the rest of his apprenticeship cohort.
"It's been probably 15 years since I had been in the classroom as a student, and so just getting back, getting my feet wet, was the biggest part," Keller said. "But once we kind of established relationships and I got to meet the 12 other people in the class, we collaborate and I never feel alone. With the support of the district, Midland and my peers, it's been great so far."
