Margaret “Maggie” Gurewicz will graduate from Husson University next spring with hundreds more hours of experience in elementary classrooms than some of her peers thanks to a program that pays college students to work in schools before graduation.
She is a participant in the Educator Accelerator program at Regional School Unit 34, which serves Alton, Bradley and Old Town. It launched in 2021 when it hired a cohort of college students to work in classrooms under the supervision of mentor teachers and as substitutes. They are paid as part-time employees while gaining extra field experience.
The district last week began a new school year with its fifth cohort, including about 10-12 participants from Eastern Maine Community College, Husson University, the University of Maine and the University of Maine at Augusta’s campus in Bangor.
The Educator Accelerator program has helped meet immediate staffing needs, and some graduates have gone on to work for the district, Assistant Superintendent Jon Doty said. He called it a “win-win-win” for the district’s pre-kindergarten through 12th grade students, pre-service educators and university partners, particularly during a nationwide shortage of teachers.
“Educator shortages have been a rising concern in our nation for a handful of years. We need to work aggressively as a state to bring people into the field and prepare them for the steep learning curve that happens during the first few years of the profession,” Doty said, which includes removing financial barriers.
RSU 34 relies on federal COVID relief money to fund the program. When those funds run out in about a year, every penny will count for school districts, Doty said. He and program partners are looking for other sources of funding, including an apprenticeship grant through Maine’s education and labor departments.
The COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbated staffing shortages and was also when many students fell behind academically, socially and emotionally, Doty said.
That is evident to Gurewicz, an “educator accelerator” at Old Town Elementary, who has learned that teaching takes a team because students are at different levels with varying needs, she said.
Last year she worked with fourth graders, while this year she was hired again and assigned to Michelle Miller’s fifth-grade classroom. Having a blend of assignments — one day as a substitute and the next in Miller’s classroom with familiar students, for example — has taught her to adapt quickly and keep calm when circumstances are beyond her control, she said.
Juggling this work with two other part-time jobs, college classes and other commitments is challenging, but Gurewicz said she “wouldn’t trade this experience for anything”. The skills and tools she has gained for her future classroom are invaluable, she said.
“I have worked a lot of jobs in the last few years, and this one is my favorite,” she said. “This program has shown me where I want to take my career because there is so much beyond your four-year teaching degree.”
Gurewicz, 21, hopes to land a job at the district after graduation, when she will be certified to teach kindergarten through 8th grade. Then she wants to pursue a master’s degree in school counseling or special education.
RSU 34 has at least two full-time teachers who participated in the program, Doty said. The district welcomed them, the participants got to know district staff, and they could hit the ground running as full-time hires, he said.
Educator Accelerators use the program to meet their rigorous requirements for graduation, but some get involved, even surpassing hours, because they want authentic experiences and mentorship, said Shelly Tennett, chairperson of Husson’s education school and an assistant professor.
This is a model that can be replicated and have a positive effect on the profession, she said. Area schools like Center Drive School in Orrington, where Husson students are also involved, have drawn inspiration and created a similar program, said Evan Mooney, an assistant professor and clinical director of teacher education.
“The district has invested in a thoughtful way,” he said. “This is the way teacher education should be.”