State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond has announced a new effort that will recruit volunteers to become teachers in California classrooms.

The partnership between the California Department of Education and California Volunteers, Office of the Governor, will promote new pathways into teaching for California Volunteers service corps members — a group that includes 10,000 people each year across all corps, including the California Climate Action Corps, AmeriCorps, #CaliforniansForAll Youth Jobs, and #CaliforniansForAll College Corps.

While the CDE has not traditionally engaged in recruitment, Thurmond has elevated the educator crisis as a key challenge and made the support of Local Educational Agencies a priority of his administration.

“Our teachers do incredible work in and out of the classroom every day, but this remains a difficult time,” Thurmond said, in a news release. “Teacher shortages are a long-term national issue exacerbated by COVID-19, and California is no exception — they are retiring or leaving the profession for other options. We are stepping in to support districts and schools on the issue of teacher recruitment by partnering with California Volunteers to hold a series of career fairs and reach out to 10,000 talented corps members, who already understand why it is important to give back to our society and youth.”

Thurmond was joined at a Jan. 26 press event by Chief Service Officer Josh Fryday, California Volunteers, Office of the Governor; Marlene Garcia, executive director, California Student Aid Commission; David DeGuire, director of Professional Services Division, California Commission on Teacher Credentialing; Susan Heredia, commission member, California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, past president of the California School Boards Association, and professor of education, emerita at CSU Sacramento; Leslie Littman, secretary-treasurer, California Teachers Association; and Tia Rowe, Sacramento State College Corps fellow.

“Governor Newsom’s investment in thousands of service members is unprecedented,” said Fryday. “We are excited for California Volunteers’ service corps becoming the pipeline for tomorrow’s teachers.”

Thurmond announced career fair events to help connect future teacher candidates with schools experiencing shortages and provide prospective applicants with information on how to access scholarships and grants such as the Golden State Teacher Grant, which provides up to $20,000 grants to support teachers and counselors to serve at a priority school in California for four years within eight years of completing a preparation program. The first career fair event will be virtual and is scheduled on February 21.