SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond will host a virtual press conference on Thursday, January 26, 2023, at 11 a.m. to announce a new partnership to support teacher recruitment efforts.
The California Department of Education (CDE) will partner with California Volunteers, Office of the Governor, to promote new pathways for California Volunteers service corps members—a group that includes 10,000 members per year across all corps, including the California Climate Action Corps, AmeriCorps, #CaliforniansForAll Youth Jobs, and #CaliforniansForAll College Corps—to become teachers in California classrooms.
While the CDE doesn’t traditionally engage in recruitment, Thurmond has elevated the educator crisis as a key challenge and has made the support of local educational agencies a priority of his administration.
On Thursday, Thurmond will announce a series of career fairs, and the first will be hosted in partnership with California Volunteers. These career events will connect future teacher candidates with schools experiencing shortages and provide prospective applicants with information on how to access scholarships and grants like the Golden State Teacher Grant, which provides up to $20,000 in grant funds to support teachers and counselors to serve at a priority school in California for four years within eight years of completing a preparation program. In addition, a new email and hotline will be announced that will help prospective teacher candidates reach an expert at the CDE who can help them navigate the process to becoming a teacher.
“We recognize the moment, and the California Department of Education is stepping into the gap,” said Superintendent Thurmond. “We are reaching out to the thousands of talented corps members who already understand why it is important to give back to our society and our youth, and we are providing them with the ‘how’ to become a teacher or counselor in our schools.”
The CDE has also supported efforts across the state by raising awareness, reducing barriers, and helping to streamline fiscal resources so that more individuals can access the information and the means to make the transition to support students in the classroom.
While this particular career fair effort is focused on those within the California Volunteer network, there will be other recruitment fairs and efforts for people of any background who want to become a teacher, and anyone interested will be able to call the soon-to-be-announced hotline. Thurmond will also highlight the upcoming release of a Public Service Announcement supporting teacher recruitment in California.
Advocacy by Superintendent Thurmond on this issue has helped secure a record $3.6 billion in investments over the last four years that are designed to improve educator recruitment, retention, and training in California. In addition, Superintendent Thurmond has helped expand education career pathways, made tax credits available for teacher housing, and improved and bolstered educator recruitment efforts by sponsoring legislation that has spurred key budget investments by the state.
The announcement is set for Thursday, January 26, 2023, 11 a.m. and will be livestreamed on the CDE Facebook page.
