News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Recruiting more students into the education field could help industries struggling with workforce development.
That according to Lillian Hartgrove, vice president of workforce development and education with the Highlands Economic Partnership.
Hartgrove said developing teachers ultimately provides educators in various fields.
“If we don’t work toward getting the right teacher in the classroom, then these other areas are compounded and negatively affected,” Hartgrove said. “So we are bringing the resources to bear in conjunction with the K-12 systems, directors of schools, and higher ed to align with what we need happening in the classroom.”
Hartgrove said having the right teachers in the classrooms will help prepare students to enter the workforce.
“If our educators are not the right educators, if they’re not with proper endorsement, content, or knowledge, then there’s no way we can continue to prepare students for a pathway for engineering or the nursing field,” Hartgrove said. “So having the talent in the classroom is critically important.”
Hartgrove said preparing students for the workforce begins as early as grade school, prompting the need for more teachers across the state.
“School systems often inherit the gap before the child has even left home, so the teachers have to turn it around,” Hartgrove said. “Students have to learn how to read. They need to be reading on-grade-level by their third year in school, otherwise it is going to be very difficult to teach them how to read. If students cannot read, then they can’t learn other content areas.”
Hartgrove said the Highlands Economic Partnership plans to create more pipelines to develop future educators by working with area school districts and area colleges. The Partnership currently assists with develop opportunities in engineering, information technology, and nursing.
