- Recruit - Starting as early as eighth grade
- High School - Courses, college prep, and supports
- College - Financial, academic, and social supports
- Graduation - Prioritized employment in home district
- Early Career - Master’s degree opportunities and mentoring supports
TEACh Cincinnati Program
Miami University’s TEACh (Transformative Educators Advocating Change) Cincinnati seeks to create a self-sustaining educational ecosystem designed to cultivate a robust teaching workforce to effectively serve communities in Cincinnati Public Schools. This initiative introduces young people to careers in education. By offering opportunities and support throughout both high school and college, , TEACh Cincinnati has the deep potential to transform the educational landscape through a path for students to become licensed teachers who are both expert pedagogues and community insiders.
As part of a workforce development effort, Miami University's College of Education, Health, and Society collaborates with partners across PK-12 schools, higher education, and the community to address the teacher shortage. Focusing on Cincinnati neighborhoods and engaging those who have the most at stake – community insiders who live in and have attended Cincinnati Public Schools – TEACh Cincinnati seeks to cultivate a cadre of new teachers who not only know the Cincinnati community but are able to serve as anchors to those communities.
The initiative is financially supported by the Ohio Department of Higher Education, the HCS Foundation, the Greater Cincinnati Foundation, Accelerate Great Schools, the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Education.
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Miami University and Cincinnati Public Schools partnered to create a grow-your-own-teacher pipeline model. TEACh Cincinnati inspires students in Cincinnati schools to become educators and combat the teacher shortage. Students share their motivation for teaching and the impact of the program, emphasizing personal connections, support, and policy change.
Great communities require great schools, and great schools demand great teachers. However, the teaching profession is facing critical shortages due to a combination of declining enrollment in educator preparation programs, low retention rates for early-career teachers, and a surge in teacher resignations. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are 567,000 fewer teachers today than before the pandemic. Closer to home, Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS) started the 2023-2024 school year down nearly 300 teachers.
Cincinnati, like the rest of the nation, faces significant challenges in recruiting, maintaining, and retaining a vibrant teaching workforce that reflects the students in classrooms. These challenges unfold along three key fronts:
- Insufficient New Teachers Entering the Pipeline
There aren’t enough new teachers entering the profession to keep up with high attrition rates. Between 2010 and 2018, Ohio saw a 50% decline in teacher education enrollments, making it one of nine states with a net loss of more than 10,000 prospective teachers. This trend worsened during the pandemic. More must be done to identify emerging teachers before college, invest in their pre-college preparation, and support their entry into and success within teacher preparation programs. - Struggles to Retain Early-Career Teachers
School districts are also struggling to retain early-career teachers. Research indicates that approximately 44% of teachers leave the profession within their first five years, with the highest turnover rates in urban and high-need schools. Furthermore, a recent National Education Association (NEA) survey revealed that 55% of current teachers plan to leave the profession earlier than they initially intended. Early-career teachers need continuous support, particularly in managing their well-being and navigating school structures, especially in urban environments. - Lack of Representation in the Teaching Workforce
The nation’s teaching workforce is not keeping pace with national and classroom demographics. Research shows that having broad representation among teachers benefits all students by helping them understand and engage with differing perspectives and lived experiences. Lessening the disparity between the demographics of students and their teachers will help increase student achievement.
Addressing the challenge of developing a sustainable, representative teaching workforce requires innovative approaches. This includes identifying, attracting, and supporting prospective teachers earlier in their schooling, helping them graduate, and mentoring them as early-career teachers. This effort is critical not only to the success of their students but also to the development of a strong workforce for neighborhoods across Cincinnati.
Founded as MU TEACh, the TEACh Cincinnati program began at Aiken High School with a simple premise: teachers are more likely to serve in districts similar to the ones they grew up in, and they are better equipped to understand the challenges faced by students in those districts. This recruit-retain-retire model aims to prepare diverse, effective, and long-term educators who are rooted in their communities through the following stages:
- Recruitment starts as early as middle school and continues through high school, with teaching-based affinity groups and mentoring from Miami teacher preparation faculty and staff to expose students to the possibilities of careers in education.
- High school juniors and seniors engage in college prep, take college courses through the College Credit Plus (CCP), and participate in campus visits.
- Students gain admission to Miami’s teacher education programs, supported by financial, academic, and social resources to enhance both access and retention.
- Students may participate in Miami’s award-winning Urban Cohort program, specifically preparing them for the challenges and opportunities of urban teaching environments and community engagement.
- Students complete their student teaching in Cincinnati Public Schools.
- Graduates receive preferred hiring status within Cincinnati Public Schools.
- Early-career teachers receive ongoing mentoring and support through Miami’s Early Career Teacher Community of Practice and have an opportunity to enroll in Miami’s online Master’s of Curriculum and Instruction program, helping them not only persist but thrive.
- Early-career teachers grow into established, high-impact educators, persisting until retirement and creating lasting legacies as leaders, mentors, and community anchors.
In Fall 2022, four students from Aiken High School were among seven total Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS) students entering Miami University’s teacher education programs, marking a key milestone for a groundbreaking initiative that began in 2018. Since then, two additional cohorts of students have followed, bringing the total number of students at Miami in Fall 2024 to 23. These students represent schools across Cincinnati, including Aiken, Oyler, School of Creative and Performing Arts, Taft, Walnut Hills, and Withrow HIgh schools with additional students from Shroder and Spencer to come. Based on demonstrated financial need according to a student’s FAFSA and current funding, students currently attending Miami through the TEACh Cincinnati program have had their entire Cost of Attendance covered through scholarships and grants.
In 2023, Miami also began partnering with Cincinnati State and Leading Men Fellowship to strengthen the already robust pipeline of high school students involved in the program. With over 350 students participating, many are learning about careers in education and recognizing the potential of pursuing post-secondary education with the possibility of becoming a teacher. The TEACh Cincinnati program can be visualized as a funnel, initially engaging as many students as possible and exposing them to the possibilities of careers in teaching. As the funnel narrows, students are provided with subsequent experiences and engagement opportunities in order to capture an incoming class that is both interested and can be supported by the current resource infrastructure (e.g., personnel and scholarships).
The success of this model led to an Ohio Department of Higher Education grant focused on helping to alleviate the teacher shortage. With additional funding from the Greater Cincinnati Foundation, HCS Foundation, Accelerate Great Schools, Martha Holden Jennings Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Education, with further investments from both Miami University and Cincinnati Public Schools, the program aims to expand across all interested Cincinnati high schools in the coming years. The goal is to create a continuous pipeline, graduating a significant number of new, homegrown teachers over the next decade.
The true promise of this initiative lies not only in Miami’s impact but in the scalability of the model itself. It can be expanded across Cincinnati schools and to the nine higher education institutions graduating educators within 50 miles of Cincinnati.
While the challenge is daunting, the imperative for action, economically and socially, is too important to ignore. A shortage of quality teachers limits the effectiveness of our communities’ schools, leaving a generational impact on educational attainment and, ultimately, life outcomes.
The weight of this challenge is beyond the capabilities of any one entity or sector. The ramifications are felt and, thus, the responsibilities shared across a community.
Miami University and its College of Education, Health, and Society invite Cincinnati partners from across education, industry, government, and philanthropy to join in critical discussions surrounding educator recruitment and retention and share their knowledge and resources to ensure all Cincinnati students benefit from committed, well-prepared and inspiring teachers.
Our Approach: Grow Your Own Teacher Pipeline
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TEACh Pipeline Program News
EHS students and faculty visit Statehouse to discuss education, health, and community needs
On March 26th, a group of 14 EHS students, faculty, and staff joined Miami University's Office of ASPIRE and Government Relations Network at the Ohio Statehouse for their annual Alternativ...
TEACh Cincinnati honored at AACTE national conference
Miami University’s TEACh Cincinnati program was recognized on a national stage as it received the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) Increasing Educator Divers...
Miami students and staff share TEACh Cincinnati experience in The Miami Student
Miami University students and staff involved in the TEACh Cincinnati program were recently featured in The Miami Student, sharing their experiences in the initiative that helps students from divers...
Miami University hosts literacy celebration at Queen City Book Bank
Miami University’s College of Education, Health, and Society (EHS) hosted a Celebration of Literacy on Monday, November 18 at the Queen City Book Bank, highlighting the importance of lite...
Confronting the Teacher Shortage Crisis (Reframe)
The teacher shortage has become a national crisis. COVID exacerbated the issue, but other factors like burnout, a lack of adequate preparation and support, increased school violence, and political divides are also at play.
Hear about a new initiative called TEACh Cincinnati, which aims to address the teacher shortage and develop a cadre of community-oriented educators.
