Mercyhurst supports students from marginalized population in pursuing teaching careers

A novel program introduced by the Mercyhurst University Department of Education aims to increase the number of teacher candidates in Pennsylvania who are racially, ethnically, socioeconomically, and linguistically diverse.

The new initiative, NextGen814: Preparing Erie’s Generation of Teachers, has earned top funding—$100,000—from the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Innovative Teacher Prep2Practice Grant Program.

“The US has a chronic issue of recruiting and retaining teachers, especially in the post-COVID era and for teachers of color,” said Dr. Susan Johnson, associate professor of Education. “All along the pipeline to becoming a teacher, there are interconnected systemic barriers that prevent prospective teachers from marginalized populations from entering college, thriving while there, and persisting through to graduation.”

Johnson and Education Department faculty Amy Bauschard devised the new program, believing that fostering inclusion and taking a culturally responsive approach to teaching and learning benefits everyone.

“Not only does creating greater multicultural awareness and inclusion help diverse students succeed but it also encourages acceptance and prepares all of us to thrive in an exponentially diverse world,” said Johnson.

Partnering with the Erie School District, Mercyhurst began in February to recruit seven students of color from Erie High School who lack access and support to pursue higher education. In turn, they will provide them with an innovative pathway into the teaching profession.

NextGen814 tackles challenges that many marginalized students face by providing access to financial resources, clinical experience through a paid internship, and offering pre-college support to bolster academic success.

In explaining the program, which begins this summer, Bauschard said students will take six credits of teacher preparation courses. The cohort will have access to high-quality academic advising and mentoring, which is the hallmark of programming. Current pre-service teachers in the Education Department as well as teachers of color in the Erie City Schools will serve as mentors for each incoming student.

The NextGen814 students will also be placed in a paid learning program, serving as assistants to teachers in the K-2 summer enrichment program that Mercyhurst conducts in city schools through its Carpe Diem Academy.

“This will afford participants early, supervised, positive experiences with children with the potential of strengthening their commitment to teaching,” said Bauschard, who was instrumental in building the Carpe Diem Academy, founded in 2012, into a national model. It was the precursor to the Mercyhurst Early Learning Innovation Academy, which debuted in 2019, in the Northwestern School District.

The supports afforded to the NextGen814 cohort will continue through the students’ senior year.

PHOTO: Erie High School students interested in Mercyhurst’s new NextGen:814 program visit campus to learn more. Here they are with Education faculty Amy Bauschard.