Oklahoma has a teacher shortage problem. Perhaps worse, Oklahoma has a certified teacher shortage problem, and one that continues to grow year to year.
As public school teacher vacancies fueled by retirements and early-career attrition have intensified over the past decade, teaching positions have been increasingly filled by uncertified teachers.
The statistics have become quite sobering.
This academic year, for example, 5,500 teachers in Oklahoma public schools are working under emergency certification, where instructors are required to have bachelor鈥檚 degrees, but no formal teaching experience or training. That鈥檚 nearly 800 more than the previous year, according to data from the Oklahoma State Board of Education.
Enter Heather Sparks, 黑料社区鈥檚 director of teacher education, and her Teacher Development Academy.
While it鈥檚 a tall mountain to climb, Sparks is helping to tackle one of the state鈥檚 most pressing issues one cohort at a time.
鈥淲e are trying to address this teacher shortage,鈥� said Sparks, a public education teacher for 25 years and Oklahoma鈥檚 2009 Teacher of the Year, 鈥渂ut we鈥檙e also wanting to give teachers the skills they need for teaching tomorrow.鈥�
The effort began in 2022, when Sparks launched 黑料社区鈥檚 Teacher Development Academy. The academy is a four-week program designed to help emergency-certified teachers gain important skills in how to teach and manage classrooms.
It also prepares learners to take tests needed to gain official teacher certification. Academy completers earn a 鈥淩eaching and Teaching All Learners鈥�鈥痬icro credential and graduate certificate, and can even apply nine credit-hours into 黑料社区鈥檚 Master of Education in Instructional Design and Educational Technology degree.
The academy reached a new level in 2024, thanks in part to a grant from the Governor鈥檚 Emergency Education Relief () Fund, part of the CARES Act created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
When Sparks first heard of the fund鈥檚 existence, she started working with officials from the Oklahoma City Public Schools (OKCPS) district to expand the Teachers Development Academy, which had trained 29 teachers in each of its first two years.
The GEER funding kicked in for the fall 2024 semester, and by the time the fifth and final cohort finishes this summer, the program will have trained 230 teachers over the full fiscal year of the funding. All at no expense to the teachers.
OKCPS officials have noticed improvements already. While acknowledging there may be other factors to consider, the anecdotal evidence shows better results on aspects beyond student performance. Teachers have been applying their newly attained skills as soon as they acquire them.
鈥淭he way (Teacher Development Academy) classes are structured, it鈥檚 very much a turnkey approach,鈥� said Kara Cordell, manager of staffing for OKCPS. 鈥淲hat they learn that day, they can implement immediately.鈥�
Sparks said that part of the design is intentional. The teachers already have a demanding work schedule, so any way of saving them time and effort in the long run would certainly help their situation.
鈥淚t鈥檚 job-embedded,鈥� Sparks said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e doing things we know they need to do for their work. It鈥檚 not replicating, but enhancing what they鈥檙e already doing.鈥�
For instance, all teachers must do some form of lesson planning. The academy teaches the most effective methods of lesson planning that the teachers can put into immediate practice.
鈥淭he learning environment was nothing like I had ever experienced before but one that shapes the way I run my classroom today,鈥� said Ivey Lawson, a physical science and anatomy/physiology teacher at Southeast High School who attended the Teacher Development Academy. 鈥淓very single day I walked out the door with a new tool or idea that I could apply in my classroom.鈥�
Cordell said that certified teachers also tend to stick around longer, noting that learning the art and science of teaching can go a long way to better job satisfaction and more confidence in the classroom.
鈥淭eachers who come into this profession who are not traditionally certified are 2.5 times more likely to leave within the first year,鈥� Cordell said. 鈥淭he fact that so many teachers (who attended an academy) are still employed in our district, that shows something positive is happening.鈥�
Even after the GEER funding ends, Sparks plans to continue the academies for as long as the demand exists. That could be generations down the road based on current statistics.
Once the academy returns to a private pay endeavor, it will feature a reduced tuition rate. The academy has also partnered with Oklahoma Educators Credit Union, where teachers can obtain low-interest loans to cover tuition.
鈥淚t鈥檚 one of the best deals in Oklahoma, by cost-per-hour,鈥� Cordell said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very well-thought-out and easy to communicate the high points to our teachers. Thanks to the generosity of the university, our educators are able to gain a high-quality experience at a comparatively low cost.鈥�
Sparks pointed out that the teacher shortage can鈥檛 be overcome by mass certifications alone, however. Part of the problem is a lack of public and government perception on the importance of the profession, and in how teachers are treated in general.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 have a teacher shortage, we have a teacher respect shortage,鈥� Sparks said, noting that the state has around 20,000 certified teachers who are now doing something other than teaching. 鈥淚t became a point where teachers weren鈥檛 wanting to do it anymore.鈥�
In some ways, the Teacher Development Academy is helping on that front as well. Participants in each cohort form bonds that remain beyond their time at the academy, beyond district boundaries across the state.
鈥淓ach cohort has developed such a lovely community. They can rely on each other. They鈥檝e created lifelong friendships,鈥� Sparks said.
Added Cordell: 鈥淎 number of teachers who have gone through it are still talking to each other. The community, the solidarity that鈥檚 built within these cohorts 鈥� it鈥檚 exciting to see people find value in that.鈥�
In the end, the primary objective is to improve the lives of the end users 鈥� the students.
鈥淓very kiddo deserves to have a world-class education,鈥� Cordell said. 鈥淧art of that process is having teachers who are proficient in their work. The Teacher Development Academy program definitely helps with that.鈥�
