Low wages keep quality candidates from becoming educators, East Bay teacher residency program plans to change that

(KRON) — The high cost of living and low wages are keeping potentially quality candidates from becoming teachers — forcing longtime educators to opt out of careers in classrooms.

A new teacher residency program in the East Bay aims to change that, falling in line with others trying to keep equity in education.

Teacher by day. Student at night.

“It’s not the most lucrative job, but it’s really what I’m passionate about,” said Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) student-teacher Tyler Cardenas.

An aspiring educator’s path to solvency is accelerated by a pressing need for more school leaders.

“After my third year of teaching, I had to leave the classroom because I couldn’t afford to live here,” said TRiO Plus CEO Kyra Mungia. TRiO Plus is “a coalition of public and private community stakeholders to ensure teachers of color can afford to live in the cities they teach.”

Let go of the veterans for a cheaper and possibly more youth-connected workforce? Or, keep it status quo and your curriculum may not advance; keep pace with society and your community is left a step behind. The modern-day’s business society is stuck with balancing loyalty and profits.

“We are actively recruiting at this time,” said Dean of the Kalmonovitz School of Education Carol Ann Gittens.

There has to be a way to combine both — up-and-comers with proven go-getters.

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Saint Mary’s College of California in Moraga and the San Ramon Valley Unified School District’s (SRVUSD) partnership alludes to a successful launch to an enduring collaboration.

“It’s gonna be our faculty and staff supporting our graduate learners as they go on this journey to become educators,” said SRVUSD Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Melanie Jones.

Earlier this month, the school district and SMC held their first joint presentation, introducing the institutions’ joint “Teachers for Tomorrow” residency program.

“What we want to do is have a strong balance between the clinical practice side and the academic side, so that aspiring educators are getting in. They’re getting the academic theory and they’re also getting a strong practice in the field,” said SMC adjunct professor Cynthia Goin.

Graduate students overcome inequity as they pursue careers as teachers who otherwise would focus on higher-paying jobs. Instead, an opportunity to advance their passions in education.

“It’s gonna be our faculty and our staff supporting our graduate learners as they go on this journey to become educators,” Jones said.

The program pays each teaching apprentice $32,500 for a year to combine a year’s worth of classwork at SMC and a concurrent year of mentorship from an SRVUSD teacher with live classroom experience. They will earn a teaching credential sanctioned by the state and an all-but-guaranteed district teaching job after the apprenticeship and residency.

“The way I’m able to live and survive in the Bay Area right now is with TRiO Plus,” Cardenas said.

Cardenas is a student-teacher in Oakland’s teacher-residency program. The UC Berkeley alum earned his bachelor’s degree from Cal and is currently paying below market on his rent and has part of his tuition paid for through the residency program, which compensates aspiring teachers for learning how to be an educator and do so while learning from mentors.

Cardenas also benefits from the non-profit TRiO Plus.

A group spearheaded by Mungia, which subsidizes rentals for teachers, keeping monthly payments below 30 percent of their income and continues to do so after their programs are over as long as they make a commitment to teaching in the town.

“With our ‘Zillow-for-teachers,’ if you will, we empower educators to choose where they want to live — what amenities they want,” Mungia said. “They’re not stuck in one building in one part of the city, but really allowed to be the professionals that they are — the adults that they are and chose what works right for them.”

A virtual meeting for the SMC and SRVUSD program last Wednesday detailed the expectations for applicants and their avenues to apply for the program. At 4 p.m. Thursday, April 25 in the late afternoon, the second and final informational session is being held on the Monte Vista High School campus at the Workday Center.

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Interested applicants are encouraged to attend.

“This is really gonna allow us to focus on filling some of our most challenging teaching positions in special education and STEM,” Jones said.

The Oakland Teacher Residency is also actively recruiting.

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