North Branch Area Public Schools is moving forward on a unique apprenticeship program to develop more teachers following actions taken by its board of education at a meeting held Thursday, April 11.
The board unanimously approved a memorandum of agreement with both the North Branch Support Staff Association and the North Branch Education Association to establish a “Teacher Apprenticeship Program” starting the 2024-25 school year and continuing through the following year.
Superintendent Sara Paul, who presented the program to the board, said the reason for its establishment is obvious.
“We have a shortage of teachers around the state,” she said. “There are 225,000 education jobs in Minnesota, and 13,000 – or roughly 6% – are vacant. …
“We want to have our own group of highly motivated teachers. This apprenticeship is really about earning while you learn.”
To create the apprenticeship program, the school worked with a variety of groups, including the Minnesota Department of Labor, the Minnesota Professional Educators Licensing and Standards Board, and a number of internal groups at North Branch, as well as the University of Minnesota-Mankato.
The result was a “Registered Apprenticeship Program for Teachers,” or RAPT, which will allow individuals to become licensed teachers by working alongside experienced teachers while receiving compensation during that apprenticeship.
“We’re in the process where our application is being reviewed,” Paul said. “I have at least one meeting a week to coordinate with the Department of Labor. We’re learning a lot from other industries that have internships, but this is still new to us.”
Board member Adam Trampe asked if the funding for the program is coming from grants; Paul replied that the program could eventually qualify for grants, but not until the program is officially approved.
Board chairman Tim MacMillan said he felt this was not a “traditional or “typical” board item.
“This is a big deal across the state of Minnesota; it is ground-breaking,” he said. “It’s visionary; it’s a new way to move people into teaching as a new career field.
“It’s a big deal. A lot of people will be talking about this, because we’re the first.”
The proposal was approved unanimously; board member Sarah Grovender was unable to attend the meeting.
Teacher contract ratified
The board unanimously ratified a contract with its teachers that will cover this year and the next.
“The school board and the North Branch Education Association, which represents the teachers, reached an agreement on a contract for the 2023-24 and 24-25 school year,” MacMillan said in a prepared statement. “The agreement includes step increases and improvements to the salary schedule in both the first and second years of the contract.
“It also includes language around the new Earned Safe and Sick Time statute, and an improved health insurance benefit.”
The agreement had been approved by the teachers before it was approved by the board.
Substitute pay increase
The board also approved an increase in pay for its substitute teachers from $160 to $180 for a full day and from $80 to $90 for a half day beginning Monday, May 6.
Todd Tetzlaff, the district’s director of finance and human resources, said the increase is necessary to hire good substitutes.
“We need our subs; we rely on our subs,” he said. “We’re trying to make a compensation adjustment to continue to be a good place for our subs to work.”
The change was approved 4-0-1; board member Heather Naegele abstained from the vote, since she serves as a substitute in the district.
Trampe said he would, at some point in the future, like to see an increase in payments from an incentive plan where the district pays an additional $5 per full day and $2.50 per half day when a substitute serves for 50 full days in the previous school year.
Tetzlaff said a very small number of substitutes reached that goal, but added, “they are a very valuable work force” and offered to research the number of substitutes who met that threshold.
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