Georgia is putting $10 million in new federal grant money toward a plan to turn teacher's aides and school support staff into fully certified classroom teachers, part of a broader push to fix a staffing shortage that has left the state with about 6,000 educator vacancies. The Georgia Department of Education announced it received two separate federal grants to expand teacher apprenticeships statewide, building on a program that already lets school employees earn a teaching credential without leaving their paychecks behind.
According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the state received a federal grant of nearly $6 million aimed at expanding paraprofessional-to-teacher apprenticeships and strengthening teacher preparation, mentoring and support for new educators. A second federal grant of about $4.3 million will go toward expanding registered apprenticeship opportunities specifically for aspiring special education teachers, the newspaper reported. The department says it hopes the combined funding will strengthen recruitment and preparation of future educators through its Teach in the Peach initiative.
The grants build on an apprenticeship pathway that formally launched on November 4, 2024, backed by a $3.9 million U.S. Department of Labor Apprenticeship Building America grant, according to Teach in the Peach. The program has already helped 29 districts implement registered apprenticeships covering 132 apprentices, the same source notes. It combines paid, mentored classroom work as a paraprofessional with college coursework and structured support toward full certification, and it's open to paraprofessionals employed by participating districts who are working toward an undergraduate degree in a K-12 teaching field.
Building a New Model With University Partners
The education department is working with the University of West Georgia and the National Center for Grow Your Own to develop an apprenticeship model that provides credit for prior learning and expands mentoring and support for new teachers. The plan is for that model to be scaled to additional educator preparation programs and school districts across Georgia. The University of West Georgia already allows students to earn college credit for prior learning experiences through a portfolio process, per the university, a feature that could shave time off the path to certification for working school employees.
Georgia State School Superintendent Richard Woods framed the approach as tapping talent the state already has on its payroll. “Our schools are full of future teachers — people who already know our students and communities and are ready to take the next step,” Woods said, according to the newspaper's reporting. He added that the state wants to make it easier for aspiring teachers to become teachers without having to leave their jobs or take on unnecessary financial burdens.
A Shortage That Predates the New Money
Georgia has faced real challenges recruiting and retaining teachers. The roughly 6,000 vacant or uncertified-instructor positions cited by the AJC sits alongside a somewhat different count from Education Week, which reported that about 6,000 teacher positions statewide are either open or filled by an instructor who isn't fully certified. The Georgia Professional Standards Commission's own strategic plan put the picture in sharper terms, citing 5,300 vacancies in the 2024-25 school year and 6,900 unprepared or uncertified teachers employed across the state, according to the commission's planning document. That same report notes Georgia's educator attrition rate was 9.9% in 2023-24, well below the 15.2% average across the Southern Regional Education Board region.
The commission's strategic plan recommends $3.2 million to continue and expand the Georgia Registered Teacher Apprenticeship Program, including district grants for pre-apprentices and paraprofessionals spread over three years, a pilot apprenticeship program for birth-to-5 teachers in early learning settings, and a dedicated GaDOE apprenticeship coordinator position. Twenty-three rural Georgia districts are also developing pre-apprenticeship “grow your own” programs that start in high school and feed directly into full apprenticeships, the organization notes.
Georgia's Place in a National Push
Georgia is part of a broader national push to use apprenticeships to address teacher shortages. Some states have put their own funding behind educator apprenticeship programs, a model Georgia may eventually need to consider beyond federal grants.
Other states have also pursued teacher workforce initiatives. Iowa has a teacher and paraeducator apprenticeship pilot, New Mexico has an Educator Fellows Program, and Oregon has apprenticeship and mentorship efforts. Nebraska used a $4.5 million grant combined with a federal State Apprenticeship Expansion Formula grant to grow its program from just 12 apprentices to more than 200 across eight educator preparation programs, according to K-12 Dive — though that outlet also reports Nebraska's federal funding source is set to run out next year, forcing the state to hunt for more sustainable support. Maryland, meanwhile, is using $19.4 million approved by its state legislature to build debt-free pathways to full licensure, the same report notes.
Spreading the Word to Current Teachers
Part of Georgia's strategy involves getting the word out through Teach in the Peach, which shares job openings and information about pathways into teaching and career development. The initiative recently announced the launch of an enhanced statewide teacher job board in partnership with the Georgia Professional Standards Commission. Education Week has reported that the campaign is aimed at future teachers and veteran-teacher ambassadors, with the broader goal of combatting stubborn staffing shortages.
