A Toolkit for Developing, Launching and Sustaining Registered Apprenticeship Programs (RAPs) in PK12 Teaching in California
Nationwide and across California, the education profession faces a workforce shortage, including teacher shortages. These shortages are hitting California, which employed more than 312,000 teachers in 2023, particularly hard. According to the Learning Policy Institute, teacher attrition accounts for approximately 90 percent of the annual demand for new teachers in the state. However, enrollment in EPPs continues to decline, as does the number of new credentials issued by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC).
Registered Apprenticeship Programs (RAPs) in teaching have emerged as a promising pathway to address PK12 educator labor shortages, offering a high-quality, rigorous pathway into a profession through an “earn and learn” model. Due to their success in bolstering skilled, high-quality workforces in occupations like plumbing, welding, nursing and early childhood education, a movement is growing nationally- and in California- to apply the principles and methods of RAPs to the PK12 education profession.
In January 2023, to leverage the growing support and interest for RAPs in PK12 teaching, the California Labor & Workforce Development Agency (LWDA) launched a multi-stakeholder initiative to convene leaders in the education, labor, research and policy sectors to design, launch and scale PK12 RAPs in teaching across California. A Working Group of stakeholders from across the state developed a system of RAPs in teaching across California aligned to a clear vision for PK12 RAPs in teaching in California: to bolster the existing PK12 teacher preparation landscape and to reduce the financial burden of earning a teacher certification by layering apprenticeship into the existing teacher preparation pathways: residency, traditional, integrated undergraduate and intern.
Earning by Learning: A Toolkit for Developing, Launching and Sustaining Registered Apprenticeship Programs (RAPs) in PK12 Teaching in California equips school districts, county offices of education, teacher preparation programs, labor unions and other interested partners with the tools, resources and guidance necessary to develop RAPs in teaching in California. Key components include the Working Group’s guiding principles for program design and quality, practical tools and resources, case studies and a glossary of essential terms. By leveraging this toolkit, stakeholders can create RAPs in teaching that align with California’s existing teacher preparation pathways and contribute to a diverse and effective education workforce.
