Letter to the Washington Post Editor re “Opinion: My Fellow educators are quitting in droves. Here’s why.”

Letter to the Editor

Washington Post

February 17, 2022

To the Editor: Re: Opinion: My Fellow educators are quitting in droves. Here’s why.

We applaud Dr. Cassellius for declaring the urgency of this problem and offering some ways

to solve it. She includes teaching aides for the supportive role they play in the classroom. Important as

this role is, it misses a far greater benefit of teaching aides – their potential to become

teachers. They are a key solution to teacher shortages and teacher diversity, especially in

high need school districts where turnover is high and student-teacher racial, ethnic and

linguistic disparities are the greatest.

Why focus on teaching aides? They have long been overlooked as pre-professionals, as

being the first step on the educator development pathway. But consider this. They bring to

the profession daily instructional experience in classrooms, knowledge of school culture,

and a steadfast commitment to the community where they often live and are raising their

own families. Moreover, they reflect the diversity of student populations, particularly in

urban schools, much more so than current teaching staff or those coming into teaching

through more traditional teacher preparation pathways.

Our program, Journey into Education and Teaching, has been mentoring urban teaching

aides over the past 10 years to achieve professional teaching status. We are based in

Massachusetts where the state provides college tuition support for their bachelor’s degree.

Otherwise most would not be able to afford college or have to take out onerous loans. Our

program participants are 63% diverse and our program retention rate is 70%, more than

double that of their part-time college student peer group.

We offer this is a model that can work in other states. Teacher shortages and teacher

diversity are national issues. Free tuition for students committed to become public

educators, as proposed by Dr. Cassellius, would make this possible for teaching aides across

the country.

Pam Herrup and Karen O’Connor, Co-Founders

Eliza Fabillar, Executive Director

Journey into Education and Teaching (JET)