Today, the 乌鸦传媒 of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) hosted its second annual OSSE Apprenticeship in Teaching “Signing Day” to formally welcome 28 apprentices into the 2025 cohort of the program. The OSSE Apprenticeship in Teaching program is the District of Columbia’s first citywide registered apprenticeship for aspiring K-12 teachers and a strategy to build an educator pipeline in high-demand subject areas.
“Teachers are the most important in-school factor for students’ academic achievement. OSSE remains committed to strengthening local educator pipelines so that every student has consistent access to high-quality instruction,” said State Superintendent Dr. Antoinette S. Mitchell. “We are very impressed that such an impressive group of the District’s paraprofessionals and high-impact tutors continue to show sustained interest in this apprenticeship in its second year, and we look forward to supporting our newest cohort in their journey toward leading DC classrooms.”
developed the DC Apprenticeship in Teaching program in 2024 -- in partnership with the Department of Employment Services (DOES) and the University of the District of Columbia (UDC) -- to remove barriers to entering the teaching profession by providing cost-free pathways for District paraprofessionals and high-impact tutors to become certified teachers in three citywide high-demand subject areas: early childhood, elementary, and special education.
The DOES DC Apprenticeship Council approved the OSSE Apprenticeship in Teaching program as a registered apprenticeship in April 2024. OSSE received significant interest in the program for its second year in a row, with more than 175 applications submitted over six weeks, demonstrating strong demand for available program opening in FY26. As part of its second application cycle, OSSE welcomed applications from current paraprofessionals and high-impact tutors (HIT), who could apply through a new apprentice pathway, the HIT Pathway.
With the inauguration of the second cohort, this program is now active in all eight wards, across 52 schools and 18 local education agencies (LEAs), demonstrating remarkable scale and significant investment in innovative preparation pathways that capitalize on the local educator talent pipeline.
“The University of the District of Columbia is proud to continue our partnership with OSSE in preparing the next generation of educators through the Apprenticeship in Teaching program,” said Dr. Ayanna Kelley, UDC Assistant Professor of Education and Program Director. “Having worked closely with the first cohort, we’ve witnessed firsthand the power of combining clinical preparation with accessible pathways into the profession. We look forward to welcoming the second cohort and remain committed to supporting aspiring educators as they grow into transformative leaders for DC classrooms.”
the new schoolyear begins, selected apprentices will continue working in their current LEAs as paraprofessionals, while completing coursework toward a bachelor’s degree at UDC in the evening. Throughout their time as apprentices in the program, OSSE, UDC and their school leaders will monitor the apprentices’ progress in demonstrating proficiency on OSSE-developed on-the-job competencies which highlight the key skills and concepts necessary to be an effective new teacher.
"Teachers are the heart and soul of our schools,” said Deputy Mayor for Education Paul Kihn. “We are thrilled to provide ongoing opportunities for our DC residents to choose teaching as a career. Building a strong pipeline of talented, diverse educators is a top priority, and the OSSE Apprenticeship in Teaching program is a powerful tool to achieve that.”
During Signing Day, apprentices heard remarks from Dr. Mitchell and Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Elizabeth Ross. To set a strong foundation for the years to come, they were led through a reflective exercise by the 2025 DC Teacher of the Year Jazzmyne Townsend. The event also featured a panel of current public and public charter school apprentices who offered words of wisdom and guidance to the new cohort. Finally, the cohort signed their OSSE Apprenticeship in Teaching agreements and publicly committed to serving District students upon completing the program.
OSSE continues to significantly advance quality teacher preparation and local educator pipeline pathways in the District. In addition to the sustained success of the OSSE Apprenticeship in Teaching program, OSSE recently launched its inaugural DC Educator Workforce Summit: Strengthening the Local Teacher Pipeline. Nearly 100 LEA and educator preparation provider leaders gathered at UDC in June to analyze citywide workforce trends, discuss characteristics of high-quality teacher preparation and consider how partnerships can address current and future LEA hiring needs.
OSSE also released its first Educator Preparation Provider Landscape Brief in June, which provides details and highlight on trends in local teacher preparation. The brief also spotlights DC’s increasingly high teacher retention rates, which reflect the investments the District has made in our educators and their professional growth. In the 2024-25 school year, 84 percent of teachers were retained as teachers in DC, and 76 percent of teachers were retained as teachers in the same school at which they taught in the 2023-24 school year. The 2024-25 school year same-school retention rate is 2 percentage points higher than it was during the 2023-24 school year (76 vs. 74 percent), and the overall retention rate in DC schools is 4 percentage points higher than during the 2022-23 school year (83 vs. 87 percent).
learn more about OSSE investments in training programs for educators, such as the OSSE Apprenticeship in Teaching program, and other initiatives to strengthen the District’s educator workforce, visit the OSSE Educator Pipelines, Preparation and Supports webpage.