![\"Man](\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/education\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/615\/2026\/07\/Jeremy_Page_Teacher_Pathways.jpg\")
\u201cStudents are doing very well in dual enrollment classes in high school,\u201d Page said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A 2025 survey of the School of Education\u2019s dual enrollment education program showed positive results. In fact, 75% of those taking the education class increased their interest in teaching. At the same time, data from the National Student Clearinghouse showed only about 11% of the students enrolled in the program declared an education major once they enrolled as a full-time college student. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the goals of the Education Pathways conference, according to Page, was to share information and address the issues like this \u2014 why students taking part in dual enrollment and grow your own classes are interested in education but not enrolling in education degree programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI had two students who were super promising and super excited to go into teaching,\u201d recalled Michaela Kaiser, the School of Education\u2019s recruitment and scholarship coordinator. \u201cThen they just stopped communicating.\u201d She later found they\u2019d signed up for computer science instead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
One issue that participants in the conference identified was guidance from parents that encouraged students to choose careers that they felt were more prestigious or offered better long-term economic prospects. Hollie Bandt of the Hmong American Peace Academy and Sam Epstein of South Division High School\u2019s Pathways Program mentioned that this a particular concern among first generation\/immigrant parents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
One way to address this, according to several conference participants, is to provide students and families with up-to-date information about Milwaukee and Wisconsin education salaries as well as benefits and pensions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, even those who don\u2019t go directly into education often come to the field later. \u201cMike (Nguyen) and I are both examples of people who did not get an education degree when we were undergraduates, but came to the profession as post-bacc folks,\u201d said Franz Meyer of Teach for America\u2019s Pathway program. Nguy\u1ec5n is director of Teach for America. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Matt Wood, a teacher in the dual enrollment program at Reagan High School, said many of the teachers he knows did not decide to become teachers until after college. \u201cWe need to share with the students that it is a career option at any point.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Participants also emphasized that education offers many career opportunities working in schools. Counselors, librarians, school psychologists and speech pathologists, for example, are among the professionals working in schools. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The conference also looked at how data can help improve pathways programs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel Velez, associate professor of educational policy and leadership at Marquette University, stressed to participants that it\u2019s important to align data collection with program goals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Surveys and standardized tests are valuable, he added, but can lead to data overload. Programs need to look at \u201cWhat are the decisions we have to make and what\u2019s the data connected to that?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Most importantly, he said, pathways programs need to hear from participants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe need to sit down and listen to people. We don\u2019t know what\u2019s going to resonate with actual students unless we actually listen and invite them into the conversation.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Many Wisconsin school districts today face challenges finding teachers. At the same time, the overall number of potential college students is declining and students and their families are concerned about the cost of college. Both factors impact the number of students in education majors. …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3016,"featured_media":13921,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[46,42],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-comm-engagement","category-news"],"uwm_unpublish_requested":false,"yoast_head":"\n\u201cWe need to sit down and listen to people. We\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0know\u00a0what\u2019s\u00a0going to resonate with actual students unless we\u00a0actually listen\u00a0and invite them into the conversation.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/blockquote>
Associate Professor of Educational Policy\u00a0and Leadership, Marquette University<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n