“This is our little slice of a remedy to the teacher shortage problem.”

That’s Jared Taillefer, Executive Director of Newark’s Great Oaks Legacy Charter School, describing the evolution of an unusual program called “Gateway to Teaching.” It is no secret that schools, especially those in low-income urban districts, have struggled to recruit and retain teachers; as of last week Paterson Public Schools had 150 vacancies. Great Oaks Legacy’s innovative program is no panacea but, for the 2,000 students at Great Oaks Legacy, almost all low-income and of color, it is providing not only essential academic and social-emotional support but also a pipeline of new teachers. 

In a recent interview, Taillefer explained how the program works. Each year the public charter network, which has three campuses in Newark, offers 106 Fellowship slots for people enrolled in Americorps, a federal agency that provides resources for those interested in national service in high-needs communities. Great Oaks Fellows work as reading and math tutors in the network’s rigorous high-dosage tutoring program, which is embedded in the school day for third-twelfth grade students. In exchange, Fellows receive a living stipend, health insurance, and housing at Teacher’s Village in Newark. Fellows also provide in-class and curricular support, depending on classroom needs.

A study from the Center for Public Research and Leadership at Columbia University explains, “when Fellows are not tutoring, they remain embedded in the school, facilitating after-school programs, contacting families, and helping school leaders and staff maintain the school’s community.”

Some Fellows finish their service and move on. But some have wanted to become a teacher all along or are inspired by their tutoring experiences. “They say ‘yes’ to being a teacher,” says Taillefer. “ They say, ‘that’s what I want to do.’”

For these aspiring teachers (who must meet a number of requirements, including recommendations from their supervisors), Great Oaks offers the opportunity to join the Gateway to Teaching program, which gives participants an accelerated pathway to teacher certification. Gateway students participate in workshops on topics including building a culture of high expectations, techniques on management from small group to whole class, cultivating teacher mindsets, and lesson planning to hone their instructional strategies and skills in order to earn teacher certification in New Jersey.

Through partnerships with Rutgers University and Teach for America, Gateway participants also benefit from continued guidance. “They’re not thrown into a classroom,” Taillefer explains, but “gradually work their way there with ample curricular and classroom management support.”

And it works. During the 2023-2024 school year, Gateway to Teaching participants achieved a 93% conversion rate, assuming full-time teaching roles for school year 2024-2025. Put another way, one-fifth of Great Oaks Legacy’s staff members are former Fellows.

What does this mean for students? At Great Oaks Legacy (according to the most recent data from the New Jersey Department of Education, 41% of students are proficient in reading and 21% in math, compared to Newark Public Schools’ (NPS) 29% proficiency rate in reading and 16% in math. Seventy-eight percent of Great Oaks Legacy students enroll in AP courses, higher than the statewide average, compared to 19% at NPS. After graduation, 78% of Great Oaks Legacy students enroll in postsecondary education—also higher than the statewide average—compared to 48% of NPS students.  (This is despite funding inequities: Cost per pupil at Great Oaks Legacy is $18,264; at NPS it is $24,776.)

Great Oaks Legacy students also have the benefit of more teachers who look like them, an important factor in increasing academic achievement among Black and Hispanic students. Currently 46% of teachers at Great Oaks are Black and 29% are Hispanic. The Gateway to Teaching program, explains Taillefer, “was born out of necessity,” an organically-driven outcome of Great Oaks’ need for highly-skilled and motivated teachers. As such, it is a model for one way that innovative districts and state departments of education can alleviate teacher shortages.