Innovating Teacher Education Louisiana faces a critical shortage of educators, with traditional recruitment pipelines seeing drastic declines in applicants. Ashley Ellis, Director of the Associate of Science in Teaching (AST) program at Louisiana Delta Community College, is tackling this crisis head-on through an innovative degreed apprenticeship program.
Overcoming Obstacles for Educators Aspiring teachers often face financial strain when forced to leave their jobs for unpaid residencies. To solve this, LDCC partnered with LA Works to create a registered apprenticeship model. This program delivers live virtual instruction, enabling candidates to stay employed in their local schools as paraprofessionals while completing their degree. By eliminating geographical and financial barriers, the initiative supports candidates who want to serve their home communities.
Scaling Impact Statewide The model is already proving successful, yielding a 100% job placement rate for its first cohort. LDCC currently produces nearly 40% of the state’s Associate of Science in Teaching degrees, outperforming larger regional institutions. Designed for statewide scalability across the LCTCS system, this strategy offers a sustainable path to growing local teaching talent.