TULSA, Okla. — The Oklahoma State Board of Education reports 3,590 people requested emergency certifications this year. The Oklahoma State School Board Association found 17% of new teachers in Oklahoma leave after just one year.
Union High School is addressing this challenge head-on with a new Educational Leadership class designed to build a homegrown teacher pipeline.
WATCH: Union High School fights teacher shortage with new education programs
Inside Rebecka Peterson's classroom, a group of seniors isn't just doing an assignment; they're practicing what they could become as future teachers.
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The program represents a proactive approach to addressing Oklahoma's ongoing teacher shortage while ensuring students understand the realities of education before committing to the profession.
"But really, the goal of this class is to give students experiences and to let them try on what teaching's like," Peterson said.
Peterson, working alongside Union High Principal Beau Brannon, launched the Educational Leadership class this year to give students real-world teaching experience. On Mondays and Fridays, they work with Peterson on essential teaching skills.
"In class, we've covered communication, frameworks of learning, lesson design, and classroom management," Peterson said.
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Then Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, those seniors go to eight district sites, including Jarman Elementary, to put those lessons to the test.
"They kind of know what to expect, what the classroom looks like, and for some of them, they find out this is something that they don't want to do, and that's just as impactful as it is to find out something they're truly passionate about," Principal Brannon said.
At the schools, they read to kids, assist teachers, and help students with assignments, providing hands-on practice that tests whether teaching fits them.
"We know that there's a teacher crisis, and what better way to build our own pipeline than to have students who know and love our culture come back to our schools, right?" Peterson said.
Union has also partnered with Northeastern State University to strengthen the local teacher pipeline. Seniors can earn junior-level college credit if they enroll at NSU after graduation.
"Research confirms that the teacher is the greatest impact in a student's academic growth, and so we want people who have both the heart and the mind and now the skills to support the next generation," Peterson said.
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