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Austin Peay, Vol State, Robertson County Schools partner on residency, degree program




The concept of a rural district growing its own teachers is at the heart of an innovative new partnership between Austin Peay’s Eriksson college of education, Robertson County Schools and Volunteer State Community College and held at the Highland Crest campus in Springfield. SUBMITTED

The concept of a rural district growing its own teachers is at the heart of an innovative new partnership between Austin Peay’s Eriksson college of education, Robertson County Schools and Volunteer State Community College and held at the Highland Crest campus in Springfield. SUBMITTED

In the last 50 years, the U.S. suffered from a growing teacher shortage, with fewer and fewer college students majoring in education.

The shortage hurt schools across the country, but small, rural school districts are often the hardest hit by the educational crisis. In Tennessee, communities such as Robertson County need more teachers, and they need them now.

“Robertson County is a fine school district, but they struggle – our rural counties really struggle – to attract teachers because of the lure of going to larger districts,” said Lisa Barron, director of teacher education and partnerships at Austin Peay State University. “These rural districts have found if they can get people already committed to or with ties to the district, if they grew up in the district, they’re less likely to go somewhere else. They want to grow their own.”

The concept of a rural district growing its own teachers is at the heart of an innovative new partnership between Austin Peay’s Eriksson college of education, Robertson County Schools and Volunteer State Community College. In the fall, the three organizations launched the Grow Your Own Rural Teachers Residency Program, which provides recent high school graduates in Robertson County with an accelerated, free path to become full-time Robertson County teachers in just three years.

“During the day, the candidates will be working in classrooms as teacher’s assistants,” said Benita Bruster, Austin Peay professor of education. “It’s a residency model, so they’ll learn their licensure through embedded student teaching. Every day, they’ll go to work and shadow classroom teachers. They’ll be placed with some of the highest-performing teachers in the county.”

The students will earn a full salary with benefits from their jobs. In the evenings, the students will then head to the Highland Crest campus – a 25,000-square-foot educational facility in Springfield, where they will initially take classes through Volunteer State.

“At Highland Crest, they will participate in classes specifically designed for them,” Barron said. “They will complete their associate of science in teaching degree in two years from Vol State. All those hours will transfer to Austin Peay, and then our faculty will go to Highland Crest. It wouldn’t make sense for them to work all day in Robertson County and then come to Clarksville, so we’ll go to them.”

After a year of classes, the students will graduate from Austin Peay with a bachelor of science in education with a K-5 license. They can also add on a special education endorsement, making them more marketable. And the entire program is free, with Austin Peay, Vol State and Robertson County Schools covering tuition and textbooks.

Last year, Austin Peay launched the state’s first Grow Your Own program when it partnered with the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System on the Early Learning Tennessee Residency Program. The program provided 40 candidates with an accelerated, free path to become full-time CMCSS teachers in three years.

The new Grow Your Own Rural Teachers Residency Program began in the fall during one of the most challenging times in public education with the COVID-19 pandemic causing administrators and teachers to re-think education delivery. The new challenges, however, didn’t stop the important program from moving forward.

“The pandemic did change our strategy somewhat, but the cohort is moving along successfully,” said Anne-Marie McKee, director of Vol State Springfield. “Vol State provides laptops and hot spots to participants, so they have access to all their classes. In addition to classes, the program is designed so students get together once a week via Zoom to discuss successes and challenges, and provide support to one another. It is rewarding to be a part of an innovative program, and I am grateful to Vol State, the Robertson County School System and APSU for the forward thinking to meet the future educational needs of Robertson County.”

When the program’s students graduate in three years, they will be offered jobs in Robertson County.

“I’m very excited to see this innovative partnership begin, and I look forward to Vol State’s continued participation to support the educational needs of Robertson County,” said Jennifer Brezina, vice president for academic affairs at Vol State.

Austin Peay’s Eriksson college of education currently works with four other rural school districts to develop similar Grow Your Own programs.      

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