HENRY COUNTY, Ga. — As metro Atlanta school districts gear up for teacher job fairs and spring hiring, one school system is working to reach future teachers even earlier, in elementary school.
Henry County launched the "Tomorrow's Teachers Today" program in response to the persistent teacher shortage. The program aims to create a sustainable teacher pipeline within the county.
The process means tapping potential teachers among the district's youngest students.
'I had a third-grade teacher who was very inspiring,' Heather Pouliot told 11Alive. When I graduated from high school, my mother pulled out a scrapbook, and in that scrapbook was a project we had worked on, where we wrote what we wanted to be when we grew up.'
Fast-forward, and Pouliot is a living example of the impact of such early inspiration. She hopes participating in the district's program can help reach the next generation of teachers.
"This is our first year of the club," Pouliot explained. "It's the "Tomorrow's Teachers Today. 'T-3' we call it for short."
Participants in the club, like fifth grader Brandi, join teachers like Pouliot in monthly meetings, focusing on everything from classroom design to communication and time management skills. The experience has already given Brandi, who thinks she'd like to be a nurse or a teacher, an inside look at what being an educator really involves.
By exposing kids to the profession early, the district hopes to pique the interest of potential teachers and continue to foster that interest as students progress through school.
"We have amazing teachers in this county, and right now, they are teaching future amazing teachers," Pouliot said. So why not keep that going? Start off in elementary school, keep the interest flowing into middle school, and then hone in on it in high school to where they've got that pathway set for them."
According to a district spokesperson, around 400 elementary and middle school students currently participate in T3 clubs. Ultimately, when students are in ninth grade, those like Julian Phillips can start taking advantage of Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education (CTAE) courses in education. It's a chance, Phillips shared, to not only gain teaching experience and skills in lesson planning but also earn credits toward an associate's degree.
"I've been thinking I want to do high school world history because it goes over many subjects that I enjoy," Phillips said.
"They are able to get hands-on experience working with young children," Erin Dickey, who teaches 'Teaching as a Profession,' added. "Julian has actually been working with the students at Impact Academy. So he's been in class helping one-on-one instruction."
The program ultimately allows students in the education pathway to graduate with up to 33 college credit hours through Southern Technical College at no cost to students.
After graduation, students can also complete their undergraduate degree through partner schools like Mercer University.
