A nationwide teacher shortage is pushing Cincinnati Public Schools to expand its program for high school students to pursue careers in education.
TEACh Cincinnati — or Transformative Educators Advocating Change — is a pilot program created five years ago by CPS and Miami University. It is designed to recruit students of color into the university's college of education, where these students receive social and financial support to prepare them for a return to Cincinnati as teachers in the public school system.
Currently, the program has seven students from Aiken High School enrolled. With the need for teachers growing, CPS said it plans to expand the program to all of the district's high schools within the next five years.
Miami professor and Associate Dean of Diversity & Student Experience Dr. Denise Taliaferro Baszile says when the partnership was first created, the university and school district knew it had to start providing support to students at an early stage so they would be ready for life in college and beyond.
"We decided immediately we needed to start working with 8th graders," said Taliaferro Baszile. "We knew we had to get them on campus a whole lot because, by the time they arrive on campus, they should feel comfortable."
TEACh Cincinnati was created to specifically focus on helping students of color become teachers and bring more diversity to the education workforce.
'She made me believe I could do it too'
One of those future educators is Teri-Ana Joyner, a graduate of Aiken High School and a freshman at Miami studying social studies education. She says having educators like former Aiken teacher and current university professor Dr. Rachel McMillian in her classroom at a young age inspired her to pursue higher education.
"I was very, very interested in things that we were talking about in her class," Joyner said. "She made me believe that I could do it because she did it and now that she has a doctorate, I want my doctorate."
An important part of the program from the start was encouraging future educators to bring their culture to the classroom to provide students in public schools with a more robust understanding of their cultural history.
"You don't really get to hear about African American history," Joyner said. "Whenever you're in school you hear about Martin Luther King, but she (Dr. McMillian) taught us more about it. We got involved with the community. We got involved in the Innocence Project. It's something that I like to do — I want to make a change, I want to do something big in the world."
CPS 9th and 10th graders with a GPA of 2.5 or above and 11th and 12th graders with a GPA of 3.0 or above can submit an application to join the program through a TEACh Cincinnati coordinator. Once in the program, students will be eligible to receive scholarships to Miami University and grants to support the cost of attendance, including full tuition for some students.
