Funding will come through the American Rescue Plan.
President Biden’s administration has announced a series of new funding aids to help schools fill their vacant teaching positions. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh said the White House will be investing over $100 million to fund teaching apprenticeships on top of their prior investment of $383 million.
“This administration has invested over $383 million in apprenticeships already in a very short period of time,” said Secretary Walsh. “Our next round of apprenticeship funding will be over $100 million. We’re going to prioritize education in the education sector as an opportunity for those funds to help address a national need and, quite honestly, a crisis and open up educational opportunities around the country.”
They also sent out a joint letter to state and local school districts, laying out what steps should be taken to encourage more people to get their teaching credentials. This includes using funds from the $1. 9 trillion relief package passed earlier this year to increase wages.
“This letter that we put out there, encouraging to take a series of actions to address the teacher shortage and school staff shortages in our country,” the labor secretary noted. “Now, this was not created by the pandemic. It was happening before the pandemic. The pandemic just shined a light on it.”
Present at the announcement at the White House was First Lady Jill Biden who said she will continue to support teachers by advocating for increased wages. “If we want to draw more, bright, talented people into the field, if we want educators to be able o do what they do best, we have to give them the pay and the support that they need,” she said.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For discernment for the president and his education advisors as they address the teacher shortage.
- For Secretary Walsh as he collaborates with the president on incentives for new teachers.
- For the first lady as she advocates for higher wages for teachers and supports education efforts.
Sources: One America News, USA Today
