CEHD hosts Policy Breakfast on teacher shortages and preparation pathways

On January 13, CEHD hosted approximately 150 educational leaders and policy makers for a Policy Breakfast at McNamara Alumni Center on the campus of the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, focused on teacher shortages and preparation pathways in Minnesota.

The program started with a welcome from Frank Symons, Interim Dean of the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. 

Cari Maguire, executive director of the Office of Teacher Education at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, began the discussion by highlighting the importance of teachers and explaining the data around the national teacher shortage. Maguire quoted Linda Darling Hammond, “If you don’t have a strong supply of well-prepared teachers, nothing else in education can work.”
As of 2025, an estimated 411,500 teaching positions were either unfilled or filled by teachers not fully certified; about 1 in 8 teaching roles nationwide (Learning Policy Institute). Maguire presented some possible reasons for fewer people entering the teaching profession, which included lengthy and/or costly certification/licensure pathways and insufficient incentives to pursue teacher training programs.

Maguire followed this by sharing some statewide initiatives to address the shortage, which included: Grow Your Own, legislative grants, alternative prep pathways, loan repayment incentives, investments in teacher recruitment and marketing, teacher mentoring, and residencies and apprenticeships. An example of a University of Minnesota system-wide solution is the NXT GEN Teach Apprenticeship.

Cari Maguire, executive director of the Office of Teacher Education at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, then moderated a panel of experts, including:

• Gina Boots, executive director of the Minnesota Teachers Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee (MNTJATC) at BrightWorks Education Service Cooperative
• Erin Ðoàn, director of educator preparation and pathways at Minnesota’s Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board (PELSB)
• Emily Lilja Palmer, principal of Washburn High School in Minneapolis
• Dawn Ransom, assistant director of educator development in Saint Paul Public Schools

The panel highlighted that districts are facing increasingly urgent challenges in recruiting and retaining teachers, with fewer individuals entering the profession and more educators leaving. Ransom emphasized that Saint Paul Public Schools is “feeling the data” and responding by intentionally building early pipelines, particularly by connecting with middle and high school students interested in teaching and staying engaged with student teachers even after they leave the district. Retention remains a major focus, as data show many teachers feel disconnected, lack a sense of belonging, or face unrealistic job expectations; in response, the district has invested in first-year mentoring, leadership pathways, and growth opportunities that allow teachers to remain in the classroom while taking on mentoring roles. Palmer reflected on broader cultural shifts, noting that teaching no longer carries the same sense of pride or encouragement it did decades ago, and that increased standards and expectations, while well-intentioned, have made the profession feel less joyful and more unsustainable for many educators.

Panelists also discussed acute shortages in specific licensure areas, particularly at the high school level. Palmer identified special education, physics, chemistry, and world languages such as Spanish, ASL, and Arabic as especially hard to staff. Promising solutions to expand teacher preparation pathways were also shared, with Boots highlighting registered teacher apprenticeship programs as a powerful model that improves retention by helping candidates feel well prepared. She noted that mentors often report renewed enthusiasm for the profession. Ðoàn emphasized the importance of reducing financial and lifestyle barriers that prevent candidates from entering or completing preparation programs.

Across the discussion, panelists stressed that strong partnerships between universities, community colleges, and school districts are essential to creating sustainable teacher pipelines. Boots noted that apprenticeship programs in particular require deep collaboration and long-term planning to ensure teachers are well prepared and committed to staying in the classroom. Palmer highlighted the mutual trust built through collaboration, with districts relying on higher education partners to prepare strong candidates and institutions trusting districts to provide meaningful, supportive field experiences. 

Finally, Ransom underscored the need to better support paraprofessionals, substitute teachers, and community members by recognizing that teacher preparation is not one-size-fits-all. She called for sustained funding, intentional outreach, and flexible, high-quality pathways that meet aspiring teachers where they are and help build a more racially diverse, stable educator workforce.