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Jefferson County Schools signs MOU with UAB to create Teacher Academy and 'grow-your-own' pipeline
Summary
The Jefferson County Board of Education approved a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Alabama at Birmingham to launch a Teacher Academy offering dual-enrollment courses, field experiences, and a guaranteed interview for program completers who enroll at UAB and complete teacher certification requirements.
The Jefferson County Board of Education on Nov. 20 approved a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Alabama at Birmingham to establish a Teacher Academy aimed at developing a local pipeline of future teachers.
Superintendent Dr. Walter B. Gonsoulin introduced the program and described it as a partnership between Jefferson County Schools and UAB’s School of Education and Human Sciences. Under the agreement, qualified 11th- and 12th-grade students in Jefferson County will be able to enroll in UAB dual-enrollment courses and may earn up to 24 university credit hours toward a Bachelor of Science in Education. The program pairs coursework with structured field experiences in county classrooms under mentor teachers.
The MOU includes an element intended to encourage local hiring: students who complete the program, enroll at UAB, and meet teacher certification requirements will be guaranteed an interview for a full-time teaching position with Jefferson County Schools. The board approved the committee recommendation by roll call. Carita Venable, speaking for the Teaching and Learning committee, presented the recommendation.
Board materials said the program is designed to address Alabama’s teacher shortage by developing “well-prepared, locally rooted future educators.” The MOU specifies that coursework will include 12 credit hours of teacher-education courses taught by UAB faculty and 12 credit hours of Blazer Core general-education courses, plus mentored field placements.
The board did not set hiring quotas or funding commitments beyond the terms of the MOU; specifics about participant selection criteria, program funding, and the timeline for implementation were described in the MOU and supporting documents provided to the board.
The teaching-and-learning committee’s set of approvals at the same meeting also included transportation and contracted services for multiple schools, a flow-through subcontract for exceptional education, and professional development contracts to support literacy and arts instruction.
Next steps: implementation details, student recruitment and scheduling will be handled by district staff in coordination with UAB, per the MOU.
