Michigan expands apprenticeship training to grow pre-K teaching ranks

Michigan is expanding a program aimed at training and retaining more early childhood teachers by paying some current child care and pre-K workers as they work toward college credentials and teaching certification, state-backed reporting said.

The effort, called MiEarly Apprentice and run by the Michigan Educator Workforce Initiative, targets a staffing bottleneck that supporters say has persisted even as Michigan has tried to widen access to early education, including through its pre-K initiatives.

The problem, according to researchers from Michigan State University cited in the reporting, is that access to child care remains limited in many parts of the state. The estimate says 79% of Michigan ZIP codes are “child care deserts,” a framing that means there are at least three children ages 0 to 5 for every child care slot available.

Program leaders tied the staffing challenge to educational outcomes and broader economic needs. Jack Elsey, founder and CEO of the Michigan Educator Workforce Initiative, said, “If we care about every child in this state being able to read and do math on grade level, an early foundation is critical,” adding that “child care is an essential component” for a vibrant economy.

Under the apprenticeship model, current child care and pre-K workers are paid to pursue additional training. MiEarly Apprentice seeks to help participants move from paraprofessional roles into full-fledged teachers by covering their education and coaching while they continue working.

The program began as a pilot last year in Wayne, Montcalm, Marquette and Alger counties and is now expanding to additional counties including Mecosta, Osceola, Crawford, Ogemaw, Oscoda, Roscommon, Saginaw and Oakland. The reporting described the expansion as part of a longer-term plan to seek statewide coverage with additional funding.

One example highlighted in the reporting is Ally Masy-Alhin, a paraprofessional who works with preschoolers at Gallimore Elementary School in the Plymouth-Canton Community Schools. The school participates in the Great Start Readiness Program, which serves 4-year-olds, and the district has expanded free pre-K classroom capacity, with the reporting saying Plymouth-Canton increased from eight free pre-K classrooms to 18.

The Great Start Readiness Program exists statewide, and the reporting said about 53,000 students attend a Great Start Readiness class. The program has classrooms in public schools, private child-care centers and facilities run by community-based organizations, according to Michigan’s education department.

Masy-Alhin, who already has a bachelor’s degree, is working to earn her teaching certificate while serving as an apprentice. As part of the program, she works directly with the lead teacher in her classroom, completes online lessons and meets monthly with an instructional coach tied to a state-approved teacher preparation program called #T.E.A.C.H. The apprenticeship is presented as fee-free for participants. The reporting also said she pays no fees for the training.

In a description of how the apprenticeship fits into her day, the reporting said Masy-Alhin spent time reading a book to 15 preschoolers in teacher Andrea Markwood’s class and then encouraged children to hunt for letters of the alphabet in the classroom. It said the preschool runs Monday through Thursday, with recess and nap time, and that teachers use Fridays to plan.

In her remarks, Masy-Alhin contrasted her earlier situation with what the apprenticeship offers. She said, “I have two kids, so I’d rather spend the money on them and their college educations and their futures than to spend it on myself,” and added that the program is “making my dreams possible.” She also said, “For two years, I felt like ‘I could do this. I could be a lead teacher,’” but “I didn’t have the educational background to apply for a position,” after previously working in a tuition-based preschool classroom.

The reporting said the apprenticeship program requires participants to stay working in the field after completing training. It also said apprentices are paid 80% of the salary paid to a lead teacher, and that participants generally earn a minimum of $38,000 a year when combining wages and stipends. Once participants become lead teachers, the reporting said they would earn $48,500 a year, according to Adrian Monge, director of programs at the Michigan Educator Workforce Initiative.

Financing for MiEarly Apprentice came from state funds and a foundation grant, the reporting said. The initiative has committed nearly $3.4 million to the program using state funds and money from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, with a note saying the foundation is a funder of Bridge Michigan and “had no say in the reporting or editing of this story.”

District leaders said credential pathways can help staff remain in early childhood classrooms as the state expands free pre-K. Caitlin Opfermann, preschool administrator for Plymouth-Canton, said, “Many of our staff, when they heard about Pre-k for All, thought they were losing their job,” explaining that “Because they didn’t have the correct credentials to be part of the Pre-K for All program.” She said the district’s partnership helps staff stay in their positions, receive higher pay and obtain the education needed to remain within the program.

Weighing what comes after the expansion, the reporting also pointed to continuing wage pressures that can undermine universal pre-K efforts. Christina Weiland, an education and public policy professor at the University of Michigan, said Michigan and other states face barriers in making universal pre-K a reality, including low wages and the need for more public awareness about the Great Start Readiness Program, which has historically been means-tested.

The reporting described testimony from child care program directors to a Senate committee, saying state subsidies for low-income families do not cover the true cost of child care and that rising costs for diapers and food and wages that cannot compete with other jobs make it difficult to retain staff. Sen. Rosemary Bayer, D-Keego Harbor, said, “Michigan has increased access to improve access and affordability but we are still woefully understaffed to meet the needs of our workforce,” and that “Child care workers are fleeing the field because of low wages.”

Other state efforts described in the reporting include a $16 million program administered by the state and the Gogebic-Ontonagon Intermediate School District that aims to provide “over 2,500” child care workers stipends statewide.

Free pre-K can reduce what parents pay for private tuition or other child care, the reporting said, but it also said some advocates are urging policymakers to consider how pre-K staffing decisions affect infant and toddler care. Alicia Guevara, CEO of the Early Childhood Investment Cooperation, said, “we have to also think about what the connection is back to infant and toddler care,” adding, “Because those two systems are so intricately connected that whatever we do in pre-K is going to have a ripple effect to infant/toddler as well.”

The reporting also laid out Michigan requirements for lead teachers in Great Start Readiness classrooms, saying a person must have a teaching certificate and an endorsement related to early education or special education, or a bachelor’s degree in “early childhood education or child development with a specialization in preschool teaching,” with exceptions for some hires prior to 2014. Monge said MiEarly Apprentice can help demystify the teacher certification process, including by supporting candidates through existing programs such as scholarships for early childhood workers and Michigan Reconnect, and then covering costs to ensure it is tuition-free if needed.

In Plymouth-Canton, the reporting said the district has 80 paraprofessionals and teachers for preschool and that about 68% of students are in a Great Start Readiness classroom, with the remaining students in a tuition-based program. It said Opfermann hopes to add two more no-cost classrooms next year and wants additional state funds to cover infrastructure costs and expand classroom capacity.

The story was originally published by Bridge Michigan and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.