BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Education students in Bakersfield learn in classrooms, eventually spending 600 hours student teaching to get their certification with hopes of teaching in a classroom of their own. And if passed, Assembly Bill 238 would create a grant program for student teachers to receive financial support while a student.
“During that time when they're in those classrooms, they’re usually not hired as teachers, so they’re there getting experience on their time on their dime,” said Associate Professor Bre Evans-Santiago, the chair of teacher education at California State University Bakersfield.
According to the bill, AB238 would attempt to improve teacher retention and recruitment in California by working to alleviate financial stress during an important time in the teacher preparation process.
Currently, students working on their certification serve unpaid hours student teaching, but under the bill, students could receive stipends that would equal the daily substitute teacher rate, and Evans-Santiago says that makes a big difference for aspiring teachers.
“If we were able to be paid as a substitute teacher who makes like $200 a day. That can pay the bills. That can help us live and sustain throughout this program. But if not we’re just scraping pennies and trying to figure out how to make ends meet to finish.”
