LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – As Michigan seeks to slow population decline within the state, part of that effort is also to maintain and increase the number of teachers in schools. 

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Five Michigan counties are attempting to combat the shortage of teachers, in part because of retirements and high turnover since the pandemic, with a program called Teach Michigan.  The program is designed to recruit, retain, and develop teachers. 

“We have to retain high impact educators that are currently in our system,” Executive Director for Teach for America Detroit, Armen Hratchian said to WWMT. “These are the folks that are best positioned to mentor new teachers, to model high quality classrooms, and to strengthen the systems that we must build better for our students.” 

The new initiative will utilize $30 million in state investment to support schools in Benzie County, Kentwood, Saginaw, Sault Saint Marie, and Traverse City, with additional funding for the next half decade. 

“We estimate roughly 200,000-plus students will have a better educator and better outcomes as a result of this investment,” he said. “And importantly, longer term, we are doing this work to capture what works and doesn’t work.”

The program’s multi-prong approach seeks to affect teachers wherever they are in their own educational and professional journey.  One track focuses on early career educators, one is for more experienced educators looking to grow, and another for educators aspiring to be leaders within their schools and school system according to the Detroit Free Press. 

Superintendent of Kentwood Public Schools, Kevin Polston, shared that specialized areas such as special education and high school science were particularly affected by the educator shortage. 

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“While we may still be able to fill positions, the candidate pool is much smaller,” Polston said. “We’re experiencing over the past few years higher levels of turnover.”

He also added that he wanted the work done with Teach for America to serve as a blueprint for the state as it works to retain and recruit more experienced educators in all schools according to the Detroit Free Press. 

“We hope that we can be a destination district for our staff and students and families and this is yet another way to do that,” he said. “But we also believe we have a responsibility to the profession to make this work, so that the evidence can demonstrate that when we do invest in our people, our students are the winners.”

Those seeking to apply for the program, or learn more about it, may look here.