Many districts are counting on high school teacher academies to grow their own teachers. At least 17 states now run statewide “grow your own” programs, and high school education courses are a common piece. New research from Texas shows why many of these programs fall short, and what makes the difference.
Researchers Danielle Sanderson Edwards of Old Dominion University and Matthew Kraft of Brown University followed about 2.5 million Texas students for up to 11 years, from 9th grade into their careers. Nearly 70,000 of them took at least one high school education course. Here’s what they found.
1. A course alone doesn’t create teachers
Students who took a high school education course were four times as likely to become teachers: 8.7% compared with 1.9%. But that’s mostly because they already wanted to teach. When the researchers compared schools that added the courses with similar schools that didn’t, the schools with courses did not produce more teachers. They didn’t produce more teachers of color or more male teachers, either.
The courses themselves were thin. Over 80% of students took just one. There were nearly 20 different versions across the state, and students earned no college credit, pay, or scholarships. The courses attracted interested students, but they did nothing to help those students take the next step.
2. Students get lost on the way to college
Black, Hispanic, and white students signed up for these courses at about the same rates. That’s good news: interest in teaching is spread more evenly than many assume.
The drop-off came after high school. Almost all course takers (95%) graduated, but only about 3 in 10 enrolled in a four-year public college. Nearly 70% of Black and Hispanic course takers never enrolled, compared with 57% of white students. By the end, white course takers were more than twice as likely to become teachers.
The gender gap starts even earlier. Nearly 8 in 10 course takers were female, and only 3% of male course takers became teachers.
3. The ones who make it stay
Teachers who took these courses in high school were just as effective as other new teachers, and more likely to stay. After their first year, 93% were still teaching, compared with 86% of other new teachers. After three years, fewer than 1 in 5 had left, compared with more than 3 in 10 of their peers.
For a district fighting turnover, that’s a group of teachers worth investing in.
What works
Programs that build a bridge to college get better results.
Maryland’s Teacher Academy offers a four-course, college-level sequence with college credit and, in some cases, scholarships. A separate study found it raised the number of women entering teaching by 45%, with especially strong results for Black women.
Fresno Unified connects academy graduates to paid paraprofessional jobs with tuition support. From there, students can enter a residency that pays $45,000 for full-time study in exchange for teaching in the district.
The Texas researchers also estimated where extra support would pay off most. Two steps stood out:
- Helping course takers enroll in a four-year college, and
- Helping college graduates earn a teaching certificate.
Each would add about twice as many teachers as boosting high school or college graduation rates.
Four moves for district leaders
- Build the bridge to college. Offer dual credit tied to education degree requirements, hands-on college advising, and scholarships that pay for school in exchange for teaching in your district.
- Aim at your shortages. Two-thirds of course takers who became teachers taught elementary school, largely because practicums focus on young children. Build experiences in secondary math, science, special education, and English learner instruction.
- Recruit young men early. The gender gap forms before high school. Reach boys in middle school, and put male teachers in front of them as role models.
- Use it in hiring. When choosing between similar candidates, a high school education course is a good sign someone will stay. Ask about it, and track which academy graduates come back to you.
The bottom line
The students who want to teach are already in your high schools. The work is helping them get all the way back to your classrooms.
Sources
- Danielle Sanderson Edwards and Matthew A. Kraft, Can Early Exposure to the Teaching Profession Increase Teacher Supply and Diversity? New Evidence on the Teacher Pipeline, EdWorkingPaper No. 26-1582, Annenberg Institute at Brown University, September 2026
- Sarah D. Sparks, “High School Teacher Academies Work. But There’s a Break in the Pipeline,” Education Week, September 21, 2026
Danielle Pickens is CEO of the Urban Schools Human Capital Academy (USHCA), a national nonprofit dedicated to ensuring every student has access to great teaching daily. USHCA equips the HR and talent leaders who recruit, develop, deploy, and retain the educators their students need. With more than 20 years in K-12 human capital, including roles at New York City Public Schools and Chicago Public Schools, Danielle believes outdated HR systems are the hidden barrier between school systems’ ambitions and student outcomes, and that modernizing them is how the field gets great teaching in every classroom.