COMMENTARY – Aspire Public Schools

EdSource | Commentary: How strong teacher residency programs can help us retain teachers in California

June 18, 2024

COMMENTARY | Original EdSource article found here.

By Annika Emmanuelle Mendoza
TK Teacher, Aspire Richmond T echnology Academy

June 17, 2024

Plenty of conversations in California have focused on recruiting teachers into the profession as a way to grapple with the state’s teacher shortage. This is important, and as a transitional kindergarten teacher, I am acutely aware of how quality teachers can impact our students and communities.

I pursued teaching largely because I want to be the representation I didn’t see growing up. I participated in a teacher residency program that built my confidence in the classroom and taught me to connect with my students by highlighting my own identity. It’s not only the way I was recruited to the profession, it’s also played a role in my retention.

To continue to tackle the teacher shortage, I believe California needs more strong teacher residency programs. Nearly 37% of U.S. public schools experienced at least one teacher vacancy, contributing to nearly half of public school students entering the 2023-24 school year behind grade level in at least one subject. Amid these shortages, California is still reeling from the repercussions of surpassing 10,000 vacancies during the 2021-22 school year. The effects are felt even more so in under-resourced, Latino or Black communities.

At Aspire Richmond Technology Academy, where I teach, I can see how we must prepare educators and then provide the tools for teachers to sustain themselves. It’s how we can prevent shortages and retain teachers down the road.

It was a winding road for me to realize that teaching was my calling. I never envisioned myself becoming an educator, largely because I rarely saw teachers who looked like me or who connected with me on a cultural level. While studies point to the importance of a demographic match between teachers and students, I experienced a real lack of Asian representation in education.

This changed when I went to college. With more exposure to Asian professors, I finally felt seen and represented. I felt empowered that education was a field I could pursue. And I put the puzzle pieces together — that all of my volunteer work and extracurricular activities centered around helping students. By the time I switched majors, I had some catching up to do.

When I learned about teacher residency programs in California, I jumped at the opportunity. I received a master’s degree and a California teaching credential in a single year. Even in my first year of teaching, I felt more prepared than other teacher friends.

While we can’t solve the teacher shortage overnight, here’s how we can ensure we’re training more young people to become highly effective educators and stay in the profession.

First, we need an intensive teacher residency program that builds confidence. Through Aspire’s teacher residency program at Alder Graduate School of Education, I apprenticed four days a week and had a personal mentor in the classroom with me who provided me with critical one-on-one support. Toward the end of my time as an apprentice, one of the students in our classroom asked my mentor, “So, what’s your job?” This gave me the confidence to teach the following year on my own. I learn best through a hands-on approach, so four days a week in the classroom with one day for intensive seminars and subject-matter courses helped me gain more real life experience.

Second, this wouldn’t be possible without strategic financial supports. We know that systemic inequities, including the high cost of college, hold too many back from pursuing a career in education. Ensuring teacher residents receive a stipend while earning their degree and credential(s) can help. Through a partnership, the program I participated in is helping to support staff members in earning and paying for an undergraduate degree with teaching credentials. Given the importance of representation in the classroom, the partnership prioritizes aspiring teachers of color and those from the local communities.

Finally, we should expand teacher residency programs that are accessible for individuals of all backgrounds. While California has made big investments in teacher residency programs, we also need to focus on effective teacher training initiatives that reflect our school’s communities. When I participated, my teacher residency program focused on “head, heart and hands.” This meant that we integrated theory and research (head), with a culturally responsive equity lens (heart), and our coursework mirrored our field work (hands). Highlighting representation, multiculturalism and identity continues to be stressed throughout the program — and it’s something I hold dear to my heart.

Last week, I proudly watched a kindergarten promotion, which included many of my previous TK students from my student teaching year. Seeing their growth academically, and how much confidence they have gained in themselves and their identities, is another reason why I continue to pursue education. In many ways, their growth reflects my own. And knowing that I contributed a small part to my former and current scholars’ successes, as they flourish in their own ways, brings me a surge of pride.

The programs at Aspire are happening at scale, with more than 36 schools serving more than 15,400 students across California. Not only did my residency program get me into the classroom, it’s played a role in keeping me there. We need more effective residency programs, and this can serve as a model for retaining teachers in California.

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Annika Emmanuelle Mendoza teaches transitional kindergarten at Aspire Richmond Technology Academy in Richmond.

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How our schools can address California’s youth mental health crisis — now

April 14, 2023

Original EdSource article found here.

COMMENTARY
By CORA PALMA, Aspire Public Schools, Director of Mental Health Services

APRIL 13, 2023

Those of us who work in schools don’t need statistics to tell us that our children are in crisis; the research corroborates our lived experience. Since 2017, rates of anxiety and depression among California’s children have shot up by 70% and one-third of California adolescents experienced serious psychological distress between 2019 and 2021, including a 20% increase in adolescent suicides. The COVID-19 pandemic impacted all communities, but it exacerbated the trauma that already existed in communities of color and under-resourced communities.

To his credit, Gov. Gavin Newsom has responded to this crisis by launching the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative, a $4.4 billion investment in the systems that support behavioral health for California’s children. Our state also increased its investment in the Community Schools Partnership Program, a school improvement strategy focused on partnering with the community to serve the “whole child.” I applaud both of these efforts to create better behavioral health systems for the future, but they fail to meet the immediate crisis-level needs of students today.

If the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative includes resources to build the capacity of schools — where children spend the majority of their waking hours — our schools have yet to see them, and there are several barriers to obtaining support through the Community Schools Partnership Program. The application process can take up to two years, and eligibility depends on the percentage of the school population that is eligible for free and reduced lunch, are English language learners, or are in foster care. Furthermore, many schools lack the capacity to write and submit the application because of the very reason they need this program — school resources are spread too thin as they deal with unprecedented levels of student crises.

We must address the problems we see today with immediate resources to support the mental health needs of our students, alongside longer-term investments in future systems.

With these additional resources, schools can increase their capacity to support all students’ mental wellness and focus on preventive strategies, in addition to crisis intervention. Schools can prevent an escalation of mental health challenges by meeting the most basic needs of children, including the need for belonging, connectedness, and by developing healthy coping skills that lead to better overall health. These supports create a school culture where students develop prosocial skills, make meaningful connections with trusted adults and learn to care for their own well-being. They also make schools safer.

School programming should include an evidence-based social-emotional learning curriculum, like RULER, a systemic approach developed at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, which has been implemented at several Aspire schools and others across California. Parent engagement with the school can also make a meaningful difference in students’ well-being and overall school success. Regular parent workshops on topics such as bullying awareness, suicide prevention and fostering resilience can build parents’ and guardians’ capacity to support their child’s mental wellness.

Given the heavy load that educators are carrying, we also must provide more robust training for those who are in classrooms every day. We must support teachers in interpreting behaviors that may be an indicator of a mental health need by understanding risk factors using a trauma-informed lens. Educators should know how to help prevent crises, how to respond when a crisis happens, how to manage the challenging behaviors that may result from students’ experience with trauma, and know when to seek additional help.

We know these interventions are effective, and with the ongoing shortage of mental health counselors, they can be implemented with non-clinical staff. But most public schools — especially those that serve students from under-resourced communities — need additional staff and training to implement them well.

Going Deeper

A petition by Aspire Public Schools for more mental health resources in schools can be found here.

That’s why we’re calling on policymakers to identify immediate and dedicated resources for schools to support students’ mental health, and why we’re supporting AB 1479. Sponsored by Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia, D-Coachella, this bill would establish a program and funding for schools to develop additional Tier 1 student supports — evidence-based programs that support all students in developing the knowledge, skills and behaviors that lead to positive mental health outcomes. We are eager to work with any lawmaker who is committed to the long-term well-being of our children while appreciating the magnitude and urgency of this problem today.

When schools have the resources to address students’ mental health needs, students will learn more, be more connected to their school community, and feel safer and more supported. Schools shouldn’t be forced to choose between their students’ well-being and safety, and the resources needed for learning. Our children are in crisis and cannot wait.

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Cora Palma, Ph.D., is the director of mental health services at Aspire Public Schools, a network of public charter schools.

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