GYO in Minnesota

Minnesota is one of nine states in the nation that offers a statewide competitive grant for GYO program development and implementation (see Appendix).¹ Since the 2016–17 school year, it has allocated $1.5 million annually for the GYO grant program to fund two pathways aimed at boosting the state’s supply of teachers: “Pathway 1” for paraprofessional programs, and “Pathway 2” for secondary student programs.² While the state has a set of requirements for grant eligibility, it does not have explicit criteria for how individual GYO programs should be designed.³ According to Tyler Livingston, supervisor of educator effectiveness programs at the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE), this reflects a Minnesotan approach to local control governance, in which LEAs have wide latitude in the manner by which they operate.⁴

There is clear appeal for a pathway for paraprofessionals to earn their teaching license. Paraprofessionals more closely match student race, ethnicity, and language demographics than the teacher workforce, nearly mirroring the national population.⁵ In Saint Paul Public Schools (SPPS), for example, 53 percent of paraprofessionals are Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), compared to just 20 percent of SPPS licensed teachers.⁶ In addition, many paraprofessionals have a demonstrated interest in education, and their experience in schools makes them better prepared for the teaching profession than nontraditional candidates without similar experience.

School districts that enroll 30 percent or more students of color and that have partnered with an nonconventional teacher residency program approved by the state’s Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board (PELSB) are eligible to apply for the GYO Pathway 1 grant. “Nonconventional teacher residency programs” are those established outside of traditional teacher certification routes which provide a year-long clinical training under the mentorship of a licensed teacher. This requirement significantly narrows the potential applicant pool; only two universities, the University of St. Thomas and University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, are currently PELSB certified as nonconventional residency programs. An additional nine universities have PELSB-approved nonconventional programs (not residency), and these programs may also qualify for GYO funding if they offer a residency program that meets PELSB’s definition of “residency.”⁷ The grant funding must go toward scholarships and stipends for program candidates, and programs are “strongly encouraged,” although not required, to recruit BIPOC candidates. In both 2020 and 2021, all Pathway 1 grants were awarded to districts partnered with either the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (UMTC) or the University of St. Thomas, and all but one district awarded a grant in 2020 got the grant again in 2021.⁸

GYO programs for secondary students have historically emphasized building student interest in the profession through coursework, internships at local schools, and even clubs. Despite their popularity—47 states and the District of Columbia have at least one GYO program for secondary students—little is known about the programs’ impact on eventual teacher recruitment and retention.⁹ The need for these programs is clear, considering that few American high school students aspire to be educators. In a 2015 ACT survey of 1.9 million students, only 4 percent of respondents wanted to become teachers, and of those, 70 percent were white.¹⁰ If we are to increase the percentage of BIPOC educators, any strategy must include the recruitment and retention of BIPOC students.

To be sure, state policies and funding are integral to increasing opportunities for high school students to gain exposure to teaching as a career, but they are only part of the strategy. Any successful program for high school students ultimately operates at the local level. Southwest Teacher Preparatory Program staff were effusive in their praise for the local high school teacher responsible for identifying and recruiting students for his introduction to education course in Worthington, Minnesota.¹¹ Teachers can play a critical role by simply telling students that teaching could be in their future. As Kleber Ortiz, a faculty member at Minneapolis Community & Technical College, noted during a public New America event on GYO, “we’re trying to get students to think about teaching, when we haven’t planted in their hearts that they can be teachers. It’s very hard for students to see themselves as teachers when we haven’t said ‘you can be a teacher’ from day one.”¹²

Minnesota began to address this challenge using several grant programs: the GYO Pathway 2 Grant, Introduction to Teaching Concurrent Enrollment Grant, and Concurrent Enrollment Aid. School districts and charters may pursue a grant specifically focused on expanding GYO for secondary students. So-called Pathway 2 grants appear to be far less restrictive; they can be used for a host of different programs. The only requirement is that they “encourage secondary school students to pursue teaching.”¹³ This reflects the nature of secondary programs, which vary greatly in scope and design but usually exist to generate interest in teaching.¹⁴ The MDE awarded Pathway 2 funds to four districts partnered with four different universities in fiscal year 2020, and one district partnered with one university in fiscal year 2021.¹⁵

Pathway 2 funds are not the only state funding source for secondary GYO programs. Minnesota allocated $375,000 annually in 2020 and 2021 for its “Introduction to Teaching Concurrent Enrollment Grant,” for institutions offering “Introduction to Teaching” or “Introduction to Education,” concurrent enrollment courses that allow students to earn college credits while still in high school.¹⁶ This is in addition to the $150 per pupil a district receives for each student in a concurrent enrollment course,¹⁷ additional funding that postsecondary institutions receive per credit hour rewarded,¹⁸ and another $4 million annual grant in 2020 and 2021 set aside for Concurrent Enrollment Aid.¹⁹ Schools may offer a concurrent enrollment course, where students may receive both secondary and postsecondary credit upon successful completion, if they are partnered with an accredited postsecondary institution that has adopted and implemented the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships’ program standards.²⁰

However, while there is ample funding for concurrent enrollment, students may face barriers in accessing these courses. First, students must be in 10th grade or higher. Students who apply must have received a passing score on the eighth grade Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment in reading. Program admission can be limited based on past academic performance and left up to the discretion of the postsecondary institution. Finally, access to these programs may be limited by geographic proximity to an eligible postsecondary institution, lack of licensed teachers to teach the course, or lack of student interest that limits enrollment. There is not, however, a significant financial barrier; the MDE pays for any concurrent enrollment fees and necessary materials.²¹