A California summer initiative spawned a surprise dividend: new teachers

"A $4 billion-a-year initiative created to combat pandemic-related learning loss and expand the regular school day in California is also addressing another issue - recruiting teachers. The Expanded Learning Opportunities Program championed by Gov. Gavin Newsom - and on which the state has spent a total of about $18 billion so far - supports an array of summer enrichment programs and after-school programs. They are typically run by nonprofit organizations on school sites in partnership with local school districts."

"Education leaders interviewed by EdSource say it is helping to address one of the most critical challenges facing California's public schools: a persistent shortage of fully credentialed teachers, especially in high-demand areas such as math, special education and bilingual education. "While it was not an intention in the design of the program, it offers a great teacher recruitment opportunity," said Linda Darling-Hammond, president of the State Board of Education, who worked closely with Newsom in designing the initiative."

The Expanded Learning Opportunities Program is a $4 billion-per-year initiative to combat pandemic-related learning loss and expand the regular school day in California. The state has spent about $18 billion on the program so far, which supports summer enrichment and after-school programs run by nonprofit organizations in partnership with local school districts. Education leaders say the program is helping address a persistent shortage of fully credentialed teachers, especially in math, special education and bilingual education. California does not track total annual demand for fully credentialed teachers. About 32,000 of nearly 270,000 California teachers were working with temporary, emergency or short-term credentials in 2022-23, according to Learning Policy Institute calculations. Nonprofit programs such as Aim High and Freedom School point to numerous former or current students and staff who have gone into teaching or are considering it. Aim High operates a five-week summer program across 17 Bay Area sites and estimates that over its 40-year history it has helped bring thousands of teachers into the profession.

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