Responding to Teacher Shortages in Bilingual Education: A Grow-Your-Own Bilingual Teacher Education Program

Abstract

This article documents a collaborative effort between university teacher educators and an urban school district in Wisconsin to address acute teacher shortages in bilingual education. The effort took shape as a Grow-Your-Own program based on the teacher residency model. Several innovations were required in program design and implementation to satisfy state licensure requirements, including how uncredentialed teachers working as teachers of record would meet clinical stipulations. The COVID-19 pandemic posed obstacles to the program in the very first year; however, due to the pressing teacher shortage, all parties decided to push on rather than suspend the program. The authors discuss bilingual teacher shortages, program design and implementation, challenges associated with the pandemic, and conclude with recommendations for teacher educators interested in creating a similar pipeline.