Teacher shortage is at a ‘crisis.’ What two Lexington-area colleges are doing about it
Bluegrass Community and Technical College students will be able to transfer to Eastern Kentucky University to complete an elementary education degree beginning this fall, the schools announced Wednesday.
Students can start at BCTC, and after earning their associates degree, “seamlessly transfer” to EKU for their bachelor’s degree in elementary education, EKU president David McFaddin said. The schools signed a memorandum of understanding Wednesday, allowing students to begin the 2+2 program, meaning students spend two years at each school, this fall.
“The next crisis we that face is the crisis we’re in today, and it is around education in our state,” McFaddin said. “We need more educators. We need more individuals who are raising their hand and saying ‘I want to be a part of transforming lives in the classroom.’”
Courses students take at BCTC will count toward their degree at EKU, allowing them to transfer from one school to the next. McFaddin said this most recent partnership between the schools helps address the “critical need” for more teachers in Kentucky.
“Each of us has something unique to offer students, and our partnership with EKU offers students limitless possibilities,” said BCTC President Koffi Akakpo. “We share the privilege of serving our students and our communities, and we serve them best when we partner.”
Kentucky has more than 42,300 teachers and nearly 648,000 students in the state, according to the Kentucky Department of Education. A 2021 survey done by the National Education Association found that 32% of respondents across the country said because of the pandemic, they are planning to leave teaching earlier than they had originally anticipated.
Sherry Powers, dean of EKU’s College of Education & Applied Human Sciences, shares the hope that this program will address the need for educators.
“After several decades of declining enrollment in teacher education programs across the U.S., as well as the short-term and long-term pandemic stresses on the profession, school districts are experiencing teacher shortages,” Powers said. “This partnership establishes a practical pathway for education students to experience outstanding preparation that is foundational for high-quality teaching.”
EKU and BCTC have several existing partnerships, and this new partnership will be similar, McFaddin said.
“We’re going to make that a seamless, very intentional and very easy process for students,” McFaddin said.
McFaddin and Akakpo said they hope this program helps produce new teachers in Kentucky and fill roles across the state.
“Teachers are just hard to find,” McFaddin said. “As we look at enrollments of colleges of education across the state, across the nation, they’ve been in a period of decline.”
“We all know the problem (of the teacher shortage), and this is an example of a way we can solve the problem,” Akakpo said.