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Teacher apprenticeship program approved
The Florida State Board of Education approved the Teacher Apprenticeship program allowing applicants to train in the classroom while learning from experienced teachers. The experience will lead to a bachelor's degree and a professional educator certificate.
On Wednesday the State Board of Education approved rules to get to work on a teacher apprenticeship program.
It’s part of the continuous effort to get more teachers in Florida classrooms.
One mother, Courtney Fusilier says the program is a step in the right direction.
She said, "We definitely want teachers here who are qualified and want to be in the classroom and are taken care of."
Fusilier is an Orange County mother who wants the best for her preschool-aged daughter.
She says she is weighing out options for her little girl.
Fusilier says she is considering homeschooling her daughter once she is ready to go to kindergarten.
However, after hearing the news that the state approved plans for the program, she said, "If there are more qualified teachers in the classroom, that might change our family's decision and what she does for school next year."
The Teacher Apprenticeship Program is a new way to train, hire, and keep the best and brightest educators.
Applicants join the program, and then become teachers' "apprentices."
They start as paraprofessionals and watch and learn from experienced teachers.
This on-the-job experience and instruction will lead to a bachelor's degree and a professional educator certificate.
On top of the industry experience, these trainees will get paid a salary, like a teacher, versus accumulating student debt.
Florida Education Association president Andrew Spar says this is a big deal.
He said, "It really gives aspiring teachers a true picture of what it takes to start and end the school year under the guidance of expert teachers."
FOX35 reached out to area school districts for comment and heard back from both Orange County Public Schools and Seminole County Public Schools who essentially said because the approved plan was just released, they have not had time to discuss what this means for either district.