Creating a pathway for aspiring teachers

Shereen Badawy graduated from college in Algeria and law school in Egypt. She became fluent in French while living in Morocco. In the U.S., the requirements to practice law were onerous — which was, in the end, a blessing. She discovered that she loved teaching.

Shereen started working in schools as a paraprofessional, making less than $15 an hour. She was asked to teach French at Manchester’s Southside Middle School under an emergency authorization due to a teacher shortage — but she would have to earn her teaching license within a short time.

The New Hampshire Registered Educator Apprenticeship Program is helping make that possible.

The program, open to any aspiring teacher, is helping to diversify the teacher pool in Manchester. In a district whose student population is about 50 percent children of color, 95 percent of its teacher workforce is white. Paraprofessionals working in the district were invited to join the program, which aims to help people earn their teaching credentials as quicky, affordably and with as little debt as possible.

Shereen, who is set to complete her certification this year, is trilingual (English, French, Arabic). Her own children struggled to adapt to a new home in the U.S., and she recognizes similar struggles in some of her students. “I can feel how these kids are feeling,” she said.

Young people of color have been shown to have improved educational outcomes when they see people of color as teachers and role models in their schools. Of the 38 apprentice teachers in Manchester, 11 are people of color, 10 are New Americans.

The program, a project of the National Collaborative for Digital Equity, quickly expanded — and is now helping to address teacher shortages all over the state. Now, almost 120 apprentices in 26 school districts — from the North Country to Nashua — are working toward their teaching credentials.

Shereen was honored as a “trailblazer” teacher by the U.S. Department of Labor. “I cried that day,” she said. “I am so happy. I love schools, and kids need help.”