A new partnership in South Florida is helping a local veteran go from the battlefield to the classroom.
In Miami-Dade County, there is a classroom teacher shortage and a partnership between United Way Miami and Achieve Miami is trying to ease that shortage. And it’s all thanks to Achieve Miami’s “Teacher Accelerator program.”
The program provides job training and assigns qualified individuals to public schools in Miami-Dade County.
“Just in the state of Florida alone, we have over 5,000 vacancies as of the 2023 school year. And that number has not gotten better,” said Achieve Miami Chief Executive Officer Leslie Miller Saiontz. “In Miami-Dade County alone there are hundreds of classrooms that are vacant, which means thousands and thousands of students are missing a teacher in front of them.”
“To be able to partner with an incredible organization that’s on the frontlines, to solve this issue, and for United Way to be part of that, it really cuts to the spirit of who we are,” said United Way Miami Chief Executive Officer Symeria Hudson.
Carlos Griffin-Benitez is a member of TAP.
He is a veteran and now a teacher at South Dade Senior High School. He holds a master’s degree from Syracuse University and has a diverse background from finance to the Marine Corps.
But Griffin-Benitez knew he wanted to make a change in the classroom instead of the battlefield.
“I read an article that there was a teaching shortage down here in Florida and I felt that I wanted to be part of the solution and try and come down here and make a difference.”
He did research on programs to help people with non-traditional backgrounds enter the education system and said TAP kickstarted his journey to get into the classroom, giving him the skills he needed to succeed from day one.
“Dealing with the type of students that we have, classroom behavior, management, running a classroom. Right? So they put us in front of students at a summer school program, the internship program there where we got to get hands on experience, working with students, teaching them, lesson planning,” said Griffin-Benitez.
Griffin-Benitez also said several of the skills he learned working alongside Marines, he brought to his students.
“Recognize that they come from different backgrounds, they each kind of respond to certain things differently and like I said, putting them first and putting their needs first and kind of leading with compassion,” he said. “There’s a shortage for a reason, there’s a negative stigma around teaching to be honest, there’s a lot of things out there. I refuse to believe it. The kids are wonderful, the kids are great, they’re smart, they’re intelligent and they’re actually are eager and hungry to learn. So if you have a calling or a connection, they’re waiting for you.”
United Way Miami’s $500K investment in the Teacher Accelerator Program aims to train 150 individuals—college seniors and career changers—with a one-semester education and certification support course, followed by a paid summer internship at Miami-Dade County Public Schools.
They are currently in the recruitment phase, and participants will start training in January 2025.
Click here to apply.
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