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An innovative dual enrollment program in San Francisco helps high school students get a jump start on college and careers in education. This summer, 275 SF high school students are participating in the Future Teacher Pathway Program, a collaboration of San Francisco Unified School District, City College of San Francisco and other local community-based organizations that help students earn college credits while preparing the next generation of teachers.

“This partnership is a win for all of us. Students get summer jobs and paid internships in schools and learning centers, a preview of teaching careers, and credits toward their college graduation,” said Kathleen White, Teacher Preparation Coordinator at City College. “As importantly, San Francisco gets an early start preparing young leaders from our own neighborhoods to be tomorrow’s teachers.”

The Future Teacher Pathway Program was launched 15 years ago with two dozen students from one high school. This summer’s program is the largest cohort ever, with juniors and seniors from 13 San Francisco high schools, and support from 15 staff primarily from �ȷ����� and SFUSD.

“Every summer, schools in San Francisco and around the Bay Area struggle to recruit new teachers, early childhood educators, para-professionals, and after school youth workers, and we need a longer-term solution,” said Dina Yoshimura, Program Director of the Teacher and Youth Worker Pathway at SFUSD. “This partnership helps us build connections with students of color, bilingual students, male students, and others, and we need all of them as leaders and role models in our schools and classrooms.”

A 2018 report from the Learning Policy Institute showed that teacher shortages have grown worse in California since 2015. The report found a continued decline in the supply of new teachers – especially for special education, math, and science – and growing shortages in bilingual education.1 Demand for bilingual teachers will continue to increase statewide as schools expand bilingual education programs under Proposition 58.

The Future Teacher Pathway Program is part of a larger partnership with SFUSD to enroll high school juniors and seniors in introductory college-level coursework at �ȷ�����. The college courses build on students’ high school curriculum and enable them to explore careers while earning high school and transferable college credits at the same time. Students in the Future Teacher Pathway Program earn $16.50/hour working in schools, summer programs, and early childhood education centers, while earning a minimum of three college credits. Internships are primarily funded through SFUSD and this summer include funding from San Francisco’s Department of Children Youth and their Families (DCYF).

“Career pathways make learning more relevant, and help our students get excited about their education and their future,” said San Francisco District 10 Supervisor Shamann Walton, who helped develop the program while serving on the San Francisco Board of Education. “It’s great to see these pathways growing, and more students gaining first-hand knowledge about how they can serve our city as educators and mentors through pathway and pipeline programs.”