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2023 marked a pivotal shift in educator recruitment and retention efforts for Union County Public Schools (UCPS).
Tahira Stalberte is the assistant superintendent of communications and community relations for the district. She said teacher shortages following the Covid-19 pandemic created the need for innovative ways to bring in more teachers.
Next Stop: TeachUCPS emerged as a result.
Next Stop is the district’s teacher pipeline program. Stalberte said it was created with the following in mind:
- To get high school students interested in teaching while developing pathways for them to enter the profession, and
- To identify staff members with the desire to teach and create paths for them to become licensed and certified teachers.
Now, two years later, the program has increased from three student pathways and one employee pathway to seven total pathways.
Making teaching attainable
Born and raised in Union County, Belinda Sanchez-Garcia is a 2024 graduate of Porter Ridge High School (PRHS). Entering the 2024-25 school year, she became the district’s first teaching apprentice after completing the Teaching as a Profession (TAAP) pre-apprenticeship program in high school.
With aspirations of becoming a kindergarten or first grade teacher, Sanchez-Garcia considers the program an “opportunity of a lifetime.”
As part of Next Stop, Weddington High and PRHS are the two schools that currently offer the Teaching as a Profession pre-apprentice pathway through career and technical education (CTE). Students may be hired by UCPS as a teacher assistant and register as an apprentice after graduating. For Sanchez-Gracia, this allowed her to receive her first-ever job, becoming a teacher assistant at Poplin Elementary.
Through the pre-apprentice pathway, Sanchez-Garcia can earn an associate degree from South Piedmont Community College at no cost and continue her education at Wingate University, where tuition is capped at $2,500 per year through the Gateway to Wingate Scholarship.
When speaking of her experience in the program, Sanchez-Gracia acknowledged how Next Stop has made attending college attainable.
“I just wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for it,” she asserted.
Increasing access, removing barriers
As the director of hiring and talent acquisition with UCPS, Dr. Emily Kraftson oversees Next Stop. She said access is a huge focus for the district.
Whether an employee in an instructional capacity or a high school student, the district’s goal has been creating “a pathway to give them access, and that removes significant barriers,” she said.
The list below consists of the seven pathways that Next Stop offers. For more details about eligibility requirements, click here.
Pathways for current UCPS students:
- Associate’s pathway
- Early college pathway
- Pre-apprentice pathway
- University pathway
Pathways for current UCPS instructional classified employees and UCPS graduates:
- Employee pathway
- Transfer pathway
- Residency pathway
Newest expansion partnership
The latest addition to Next Stop is the residency pathway.
According to Kraftson, this partnership with the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC) aligns areas of study for teacher licensure with the district’s critical need in middle and high school math and science, exceptional children, and CTE.
Participants who are accepted into the residency will be enrolled into an education preparation program at UNCC with zero-cost tuition for the required coursework. Similar to other pathways, participants will commit to teaching in UCPS for three to four years, based on their respective content area.
“The Residency Pathway is the latest in a litany of partnerships between UNC Charlotte and Union County Public Schools that work to better equip the teachers of tomorrow and create certification opportunities for passionate professionals. We look forward to welcoming the first TeachUCPS students in the fall,” said Dr. Malcolm B. Butler, professor and dean of the Cato College of Education, in an article on the UCPS website.
Strategic approach for promotion
Recruitment starts with students as young as middle school age.
According to UCPS director of career readiness Brian Davis, the district also leverages their career development plan tool, MajorClarity, for insights about potential participants. Career assessments identify students who are interested in teaching, allowing for targeted promotional activities.
Stalberte added that newsletters and information sessions are part of the district’s ongoing efforts to expose current UCPS staff to opportunities. Last summer, the district held a session specifically for all tutors and teaching assistants as a strategic approach to recruitment.
Davis stated that there are over 140 participants enrolled in pathways offered to current high school students. Davis shared that they also have 19 students registered for the pre-apprentice pathway.
Christie Taylor is among the 25 participants who are part of the employee pathway. Formerly a preschool teacher at a private Christian academy, Taylor is now an instructional assistant at Benton Heights Elementary School of the Arts.
“One reason why I’ve always been in teaching is for the families and being able to impact their lives in a positive way,” Taylor shared.
Currently in her second year at South Piedmont Community College, Taylor stated that the pathway has given her the flexibility to work while continuing her education and pursuing her passion.
If any UCPS student, graduate, or staff member wants to pursue a career in teaching, then their next stop is the UCPS website to learn more information.
The application period for TeachUCPS opened on Feb. 1, 2025.
