Vince Razionale is pursuing his teacher licensure through a new apprenticeship program in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. Photo: Baldwin Photography
Pilot program in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom provides alternate route to teacher licensure
by Amanda Kuhnert, VermontBiz Magazine
“I’m a career changer — I didn’t study education formally in school,“ said Vince Razionale, who at 39 is pursuing his teacher licensure through a new apprenticeship program in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom.
The program helps individuals with bachelor’s degrees attain their teaching certification while earning a salary and gaining practical experience in the classroom.
“When I was 23, coming out of college, I don’t know whether I would have had the stamina or professionalism to be as good a teacher as I can be now,“ Razionale said. “I feel really at peace about who I am as a person and my place in this world — and this community.“
But the path forward wasn’t always clear.
Razionale briefly considered a career in education after receiving his bachelor’s degree in ancient history in 2007.
“It’s something I thought about but never pursued,“ he said. “And then I ended up having kids and starting a family, and so it fell by the wayside.“
After relocating to northern Vermont in 2011, Razionale explored various food-related ventures, from cheesemaking to sausage-making. However, his involvement on the local school board for several years exposed him to the teacher shortage crisis, prompting him to reconsider a career in education.
To explore this path, he took on substitute teaching roles at local schools, discovering a passion for working with students of all ages.“
“I liked it,“ Razionale said. “After a few months I thought, ’All right, I can see myself doing this.’“
But Razionale knew a traditional degree program wasn’t an option for him.
“I’ve got two kids. I’ve got a mortgage,“ he said. “I can’t just take a year off work. While appealing, that angle probably wasn’t the best fit for someone like me.“
Last spring, Razionale’s substitute teaching experience culminated in a full-time fourth-grade teaching position at Hardwick Elementary School. Accepting the role with a two-year provisional license, he immediately began exploring pathways to full licensure.
The timing was fortuitous. Razionale soon discovered the Vermont Teacher Apprenticeship Program, a new pathway to licensure specifically designed for aspiring teachers like himself who are working under provisional licenses.
The program represents the initial phase of the Northeast Kingdom Grow Your Own pathways initiative, a collaborative effort among the Vermont-National Education Association, Vermont Agency of Education, Vermont Department of Labor, and the Vermont Rural Education Collaborative. This initiative focuses on developing and training teachers from within the local community, aiming to strengthen the teacher pipeline in the region.
When There Aren’t Enough Teachers
Teacher shortages have been a growing problem in Vermont for over a decade, with fewer people entering the profession as veteran teachers retire or leave the field.
“The total number of teacher graduates has been cut by more than half,“ said Andrew Prowten, assistant director of education quality at the Vermont Agency of Education. “In the 2023-24 school year, only 151 people received their initial teacher license through a traditional university-based prep program in Vermont.“
With the teacher shortage expected to persist, some view traditional teacher preparation programs as necessary but insufficient. The 2023-24 “Vermont’s Most Promising Jobs“ report, published by The J. Warren & Lois McClure Foundation and the Vermont Department of Labor, highlights that teaching will remain the state’s most in-demand profession. Offering wages above the state’s minimum, Vermont anticipates 7,850 teaching job openings over the next 10 years.
The report found that teacher vacancies are particularly severe in rural areas like the Northeast Kingdom, where it is harder to attract and retain qualified teachers. Sean McMannon, superintendent of the Kingdom East School District, recounted a recent instance where a teacher accepted a position but then withdrew due to the lack of available housing.
Additionally, as Prowten explained, other new teachers often gain a few years of experience in rural schools before transitioning to larger towns and cities.
As of October, there were nearly 50 unfilled teaching positions in Northeast Kingdom schools, according to SchoolSpring, a job-posting site for educators.
These shortages force administrators to make difficult decisions, such as placing unprepared and unqualified teachers in classrooms. This not only impacts immediate student learning outcomes but can also have long-term consequences. Students may miss out on foundational skills and knowledge crucial for future success.
“We know the most important school-based factor on student learning is the quality of the classroom teacher,“ said Juliette Longchamp, director of professional programs at VT-NEA, the union of Vermont educators. “That is the number one; number two is the school leader.“
The scramble to find qualified teacher candidates and manage substitutes diverts school administrators from their core responsibility of overseeing day-to-day operations. Elaine Collins, superintendent of the North Country Supervisory Union, explains that this creates a domino effect, ultimately impacting student resources.
“You pull one person to cover another service, and someone’s going to do without because you can’t fabricate someone out of thin air,“ she said.
McMannon said that for two consecutive years, he has been compelled to utilize the district’s labor agreement with teachers, transferring them between schools to fill vacant positions.
“This year we needed a middle school math teacher in Sutton, and one of our math teachers from Miller’s Run stepped up to go over there,“ he said. “But it created a gap. So, then we had to take another teacher who was doing intervention and push her into the classroom. That means that students who are behind in math are not getting the extra support they need.“
Photo: Vince Razionale is pursuing his teacher licensure through a new apprenticeship program in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. Photo: Baldwin Photography
From Provisional License to Certification
The number of provisional licenses issued has been steadily increasing. Last year, twice as many provisional licenses were issued compared to the five years prior, Prowten said.
“And we are on track to issue just as many, if not more, this year,“ he said.
While provisional licenses make it easier for districts to fill vacant positions, they put the onus on aspiring teachers to complete the licensure process before their temporary license expires.
This is unrealistic, explains John Castle, executive director of the Vermont Rural Education Collaborative, a nonprofit that supports rural education in the Northeast Kingdom’s eight supervisory unions/districts.
“Here, we have brand new teachers who have never taught before, and we’re throwing them in the deep end,“ Castle said. “They’re trying to be a teacher, and meanwhile they’re also having to complete this massive portfolio to achieve licensure.“
Fewer than half of unlicensed teachers complete the licensure process, according to the latest data by the Vermont Agency of Education.
This was the inspiration behind the Vermont Teacher Apprenticeship Program. Castle and his fellow partners set out to create a more supportive, low-cost pathway for individuals to achieve initial licensure.
The origins of the project were partially funded by the McClure Foundation, an affiliate of the Vermont Community Foundation committed to career learning and workforce development.
“McClure Foundation funding was instrumental in us feeling like we had the ability to take on this work,“ Castle said.
He was able to devote substantial time to researching various models and putting forward a proposal to the Vermont Agency of Education for grant funding to formally engage in program development. After receiving approval in September 2023, the partnership began building the pilot program.
A Path Forward for Aspiring Teachers
When the 28 teacher apprentices in the program’s inaugural class complete their coursework at the end of this school year, they will not only be fully licensed, they will be equipped with the skills and knowledge to be stronger at their jobs, explained Longchamp of the VT-NEA.
Longchamp facilitates the program’s 144 hours of supplemental instruction, provided through a weekly virtual class and at-home assignments, and helps apprentices prepare their portfolios for review — the final step to licensure.
“While I’m teaching, I’m learning on the job throughout the course of the day and through my colleagues that I work with,“ Razionale said. “And then I’m also taking this class that’s providing other learning and ways for me to be thinking about my practice of being an educator as the school year goes on.“
The program also offers on-the-job support for these new teachers as they navigate everyday challenges in the classroom and make progress toward achieving their competencies.
“There’s one mentor that’s assigned to them and is supportive throughout the entire length of the Registered Apprenticeship Program, which includes a full year of classroom teaching,“ said Sarah Knight, senior program administrator for apprenticeships for the Vermont Department of Labor. “That piece alone is huge. It’s something we don’t have in the more traditional teacher pathways.“
Razionale’s mentor is a third-grade teacher down the hall, who taught both of his children. They usually meet at lunch or during recess. He said that during these first months in the classroom he’s leaned on his mentor for emotional support as much as anything else.
“She knows all my students and can offer support in a very dynamic and compelling way,“ he said.
Teacher apprentices who are rooted in the communities where they teach bring a unique set of strengths to the profession, explained McMannon of Kingdom East.
“Most of them have either worked in the school system or are connected to it,“ he said. “When you have that foundation initially, I think you have a much better probability of having long-term success.“
Additionally, students benefit from the continuity and stability that comes from having teachers who are invested in their communities. Research shows that when they feel a connection to their teacher, students do better in school, Prowten said.
“If your bigger cousin whom you idealize is the one who’s teaching you, that teacher is going to be a lot more successful than someone new coming into a rural area from another place,“ he said. “That community connection is really important, especially if we’re talking about the social and emotional learning and health that is so critical. I think it’s the most important thing right now for students.“
Razionale said he’s enjoying the collegiality he finds at Hardwick Elementary.
“People work in schools because they care about kids, and they want to build a better future for the next generation,“ he said. “I can definitely see a path forward for myself.“
The postbaccalaureate apprenticeship program is the first of several new Grow Your Own pathway programs in the works. The next phase of development includes expanding the program to other school districts around the state, explained Knight of the Department of Labor.
“We want to support others looking to become licensed teachers, perhaps focusing on paraeducators and other school support staff already working in our schools, as well individuals in our local communities who would be very interested in this alternative pathway to becoming a teacher,“ she said. “We’ll need to have some strong partnerships with postsecondary trainers to work with us to figure out how to provide the related instruction and degree programs in a more flexible, more affordable way that fits in with the apprenticeship model.“
Castle is excited about these additional routes to licensure.
“People are entering the profession through nontraditional pathways,“ he said. “If we want to attract new educators, we need to provide pathways that are affordable, accessible and connected to their work.“
Amanda Kuhnert is a content strategist and writer who partners with businesses and organizations to help them share their unique stories. This article was written in partnership with The J. Warren & Lois McClure Foundation, an affiliate of the Vermont Community Foundation.
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