WBAL highlights how TU is addressing teacher shortage

August 9, 2022

In light of a statewide shortage of teachers, NBC affiliate WBAL-TV has found that TU is confronting the issue with innovative solutions.

In July, the State Superintendent of Schools shared that 5,516 Maryland teachers left their jobs in 2022. Speaking about the issue to anchor Jason Newton for the Sunday morning program “TV Hill,” College of Education Dean Laurie Mullen highlighted programs such as the Teacher Academy of Maryland (TAM) and Educators Rising that are fostering interest in teaching positions.

The programs are natural for TU, an anchor institution for Greater Baltimore and Maryland, committed to making a difference and transforming lives throughout our region.

TAM is a Career and Technology Education program of study that seeks to address the persistent teacher shortage—particularly teachers of color—by increasing interest in the field among middle to high school students.  

“We need to orient kids early on,” Mullen told WBAL anchor Jason Newton. “We plant the seed of the importance of teaching and then we provide the supports along the way.”

As the official state affiliate for Educators Rising, a nationwide organization providing a pathway to increase teacher diversity and quality, TU works with more than 500 Educators Rising members in 40 school chapters across eight counties in Maryland to support students exploring teaching as a career path.

Educators Rising Maryland was designated as a state-recognized Career & Technical Student Organization (CTSO) this past spring.

“At Towson, our philosophy is, ‘Let’s just dig in deep,’ so we are trying a range of options,” Mullen said.

The CTSO designation, which came after more than three years of work led by Educators Rising State Coordinator and Towson University Special Education Clinical Instructor Elizabeth Wynkoop, makes participation in the program more accessible to students by allowing school systems to apply federal funding to participate in Educators Rising. 

Recognized by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), Educators Rising is the newest of three CTSOs in Maryland and the first new addition in a half-century. It is the only program focused solely on education.

“We have to have qualified folks in front of Maryland children and youth,” Mullen said. “It’s our job to make them into the best teacher and that’s a responsibility we take very seriously.”

Watch more of Dean Mullen’s TV Hill appearance.