RIFTHP President Frank Flynn Announces Registered Apprenticeship Grant

The Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals, in partnership with RI Institute for Labor Studies and Research, RI AFL-CIO, the and the National Education Association RI is proud to announce the receipt of a Registered Apprenticeship in Teaching Sub-grant from the US Department of Labor as part of Building Futures’ successful Apprenticeship Hub grant proposal.  

This 1.1 million dollar subgrant will support the work of these lead partners, with RI College and five RI school district Labor-Management teams from Central Falls, Cranston, East Providence, Pawtucket, and West Warwick, to support and prepare a diverse group of individuals for careers in teaching through a rigorous apprenticeship program.  The Registered Apprenticeship in Teaching initiative builds on the RIFTHP led work to create a RI Pathway to Teaching for high school students and the Institute’s Teacher Assistant / Emerging Educators programs. These programs serve as strategies to interest high school students and teacher assistants, primarily from our urban districts, in careers in teaching.

Frank Flynn, President, Rhode Island Federation of Teachers celebrated the news as an opportunity to recruit and train a skilled, diverse workforce. “The Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals are thrilled to be receiving this Registered Apprenticeship Grant to continue our work to build and diversify the educator workforce in Rhode Island. The RIFTHP along with our partners, the National Education Association of Rhode Island (NEARI), the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, and the Institute Labor Studies and Research (ILSR) are anxious to work with Building Futures to create and implement a world class RA model to recruit and retain the educators our state needs now and into the future. We also appreciate the support of our colleagues at the University of Rhode Island and Rhode Island College for partnering with us on this important initiative. We are confident that with the resources provided by this grant, and the strong level of commitment and collaboration of our partnerships, will put Rhode Island on a trajectory toward great success,” said Flynn.

The goal of this initiative is to help expand and diversify the educator workforce in Rhode Island through a Registered Apprenticeship in Teaching program. The initiative builds on the partners’ years of work to develop a Pathway to Teaching program for high school students and the Institute’s successful Teacher Assistant / Emerging Educators programs. The Registered Apprenticeship in Teaching program will focus on supporting the Institute’s trained teacher assistants working in the partner school districts as they complete coursework and experiences necessary to become certified teachers. The Institute will work with Rhode Island College to assess each teacher assistant’s prior coursework and experience and develop an Individual Apprenticeship Plan that will enable them to complete necessary coursework while taking on gradually increasing classroom responsibilities and experiences under the guidance of a mentor to satisfy RI Department of Education requirements for certification.  The partners believe that a focus on supporting teacher assistants currently working in our schools, many of whom hold bachelor’s and other advanced degrees from other countries, through a high-quality apprenticeship program, will help address RI’s educator workforce shortages and create a pool of talented diverse individuals to serve as teachers in Rhode Island.

The awarding of this grant is significant, not just for the investment in our RI Registered Apprenticeship in Teaching initiative, but in recognition of its strong partnerships. Union presidents and superintendents from five RI districts have come together to support high school students and teacher assistants in becoming the well-prepared, diverse pool of teachers our students and our communities need. 

The ILSR has been successfully training and placing teacher assistants in RI school districts for over 15 years. Through its Emerging Educators Program, the Institute has identified the high percentage of teacher assistants who want to become certified teachers and worked to overcome barriers they face in completing coursework and other certification requirements for certification. The Registered Apprenticeship in Teaching program funded through this DOL apprenticeship will focus on supporting ILSR trained teacher assistants, both degreed and non-degreed, in completing coursework and field experience required for certification while employed as teacher assistants. These individuals work in RI schools, often representing the communities and the students in the schools where they work. Many come from other countries and have bachelor’s and advanced degrees and experience as teachers or other professionals. 80+ percent of these individuals have expressed interest in becoming certified teachers and commitment to teach in RI. This Registered Apprenticeship Program will not only enable these individuals to become certified, but it will also address the teacher shortage and help diversify the educator workforce in RI.

The Pathway to Teaching program includes opportunities for high school students to take Dual and Concurrent education courses through RIC and earn a teacher assistant certification through the ILSR. Graduates of the Pathway program will be prepared for entrance into traditional educator preparation programs or work as a teacher assistant and acceptance into the Registered Apprenticeship program.

With four of our local affiliates involved, RIFTHP and its locals will be among the first to see the benefits of this 4-year DOL investment in creating a Registered Apprenticeship in Teaching.  There is much work to be done, but if this initiative is successful, it will benefit our current and future members as well as our students and schools.  Stay tuned to  www.rifthp.org for updates throughout the year.