UAA says teacher apprenticeship program is recruiting Alaskans, aims to cut debt and fill rural classrooms

The University of Alaska Anchorage on Monday described a new registered teacher apprenticeship that lets residents earn credentials while working in their home communities, university officials told the Alaska Senate Education Committee.

The apprenticeship “is place based,” Denise Runge, provost and executive vice chancellor at the University of Alaska Anchorage, said in her presentation. “It’s really about finding individuals who are already in a community who are interested in a teaching career, but may not have the ability to leave their home community to go to a university campus and take a traditional route.”

The program matters because Alaska faces widespread teacher shortages and high teacher turnover, the presenters said. The apprenticeship model pays participants while they learn, secures sponsor support for tuition and materials in many cases, and stacks credentials so apprentices can move from an 18-credit occupational endorsement into an associate degree and then into a bachelor’s pathway without leaving their communities.

UAA officials said the program launched in fall and has grown faster than expected. “We already have nearly 50 apprentices in our Alaskan communities right now,” Tanya Doucet, dean of the UAA School of Education, told the committee. “Forty-eight, by the way, is the number of apprentices I would like you to think about…63% of these apprentices are Alaska Native.”

How the pathway works: Runge described three primary apprenticeship partners — an employer, a sponsor and an education provider. UAA serves as the education provider; sponsors so far include Alaska Native corporations and other entities that provide tuition support and, in some cases, books and fees. Apprentices generally remain employed in school districts, Head Start programs or childcare centers in their communities while earning credits online and receiving local mentorship.

Runge and Doucet outlined the credential sequence used at UAA. Apprentices typically begin with an 18-credit occupational endorsement certificate, then add roughly 42 additional credits to complete an associate degree (a 60-credit total at the associate level). From there, the university offers a bachelor’s pathway that adds further credits toward a bachelor’s degree and an early childhood P–3 teaching license from the Department of Education and Early Development (DEED).

The presenters emphasized student supports: an apprenticeship coordinator for outreach and early intervention, dedicated local mentors, flexible course scheduling (shorter course blocks around work), and use of prior-learning credit where appropriate. Runge said those elements reduce the likelihood apprentices will take on student debt. “In this model it’s very unlikely that students would have any debt when they graduate with their bachelor’s degree in education,” she said.

Committee members asked about parity with traditional programs, accreditation and the student-teaching component. Doucet said apprentices take the same classes and assessments as on-campus students and are taught by the same faculty; UAA has DEED approval to license teachers from the program now. Runge and Doucet said UAA plans to seek national teacher-preparation accreditation (CAEP) after several years of graduates and data; they expect an accreditation application around 2027.

Senators also questioned credit totals, instructional scheduling, and how clinical experiences are handled. Runge and Doucet said student-teaching is incorporated into the apprenticeship and apprentices typically receive more supervised, on-site practice because they are already working in schools with mentor teachers.

UAA officials asked the committee to consider this model as one of several “grow-your-own” pathways for Alaska’s rural and Tribal communities. The presentation concluded with committee members thanking the presenters and noting the program’s potential to address persistent staffing gaps in remote districts.

The Senate Education Committee proceeded to its scheduled bill hearing following the presentation.