Stephen Guerriero in his Needham middle school classroom. (Photo courtesy of Stephen Guerriero)

FOR AS LONG as I can remember, I wanted to be a teacher. My younger sister and I used to play school as children, with me “teaching” her how to read, and my desire to work with kids developed then.

It seemed almost fortuitous that I would graduate from college and quickly thereafter join Teach for America, a service program that finds, develops, and supports leaders to serve as teachers and tutors in low-income communities nationwide.

I joined so I could better understand a profession that I was long enamored by, in a location that I never thought I’d have the experience of living: the Rio Grande Valley in the southernmost part of Texas. While my service commitment was only two years, I fell in love with the profession and remain a teacher two decades later. 

With an estimated 4,000 to 5,000 teacher vacancies in Massachusetts, I am heartened to see our elected leaders beginning to take critical steps to attract more people to the profession. They need to. The quality of our state’s education system depends on it. 

Today, I think of alternative pathway organizations like TFA as a piece of the puzzle in solving issues such as the ones we’re facing here in Massachusetts, and that many other states are experiencing, too.

The organization helped me build the skills required to pursue the career that I had long dreamed of — supporting children with disabilities and helping them excel. It also helped my TFA colleagues build the skills needed to pursue careers in a broad spectrum of areas, informed by their teaching experience in regions that have long faced teacher shortages. 

Continued pursuit of initiatives to foster new interest in teaching will ensure a reduction in teacher vacancies. That’s why the economic development bill enacted last year was an important step.

Implementing this law with fidelity will achieve a number of needed outcomes in our state’s education system. It creates pathways for those curious about the teaching profession to pursue and obtain certifications where they may have not otherwise been able to before. 

The bill also creates programs for high-quality professional development. Opening new pathways is critical to bring new voices and experiences into the classroom. Making sure they are properly equipped to handle a myriad of complicated student matters ensures those students have a shot at the outcomes they deserve.

In the last several years, we have experienced an increase in students facing tremendous barriers in their personal lives that affect their schooling. Research consistently shows that an environment that focuses on the whole student is key to delivering high student achievement.

As teachers, we need to focus on the whole student, balancing academics with external factors as part of our path to delivering the best student outcomes. Rigorous training and development programs provide newly interested teachers the skillset to do this. 

One new pathway created by the law is a two-year paid teacher apprentice program. Individuals who engage through programs such as this one may not have considered teaching as a profession before – including because of systemic barriers to entry and overburdensome education and certification requirements. However, through this program, those who are curious about teaching can enter the classroom with decreased financial burden.  

For teachers who want to pursue careers in teaching at vocational-technical schools, the law creates alternative competency standards, providing a choice between passing written and performance tests or showing proficiency through an alternative method determined by state officials.

In addition, the bill calls on the state to promote more awareness of tuition assistance and loan forgiveness programs to entice more people into the profession. These important steps also reduce financial barriers to entry. 

The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education recently announced they are considering a measure that would allow permanent authorization of alternative assessment for teacher licensure. Creating these additional pathways into the profession will enable aspiring teachers to get into the classroom, and stay in the classroom, more efficiently, while also preserving high standards. It will create flexibilities that allow for teachers to relocate to Massachusetts, bringing their skills and knowledge to keep us ahead of the country in student achievement. 

Over the past several years, we have seen people leaving the teaching profession for multiple reasons, and pressures on local school budgets may lead to dramatic cuts in staffing in the near future. But there are thousands of vacancies in particular subjects — like math, science, and special education — that need to be filled with dedicated, motivated young people, who can bring new energy to our classrooms and address the needs of our kids. I can attest that nothing is more fulfilling.   

It has been 20 years since I first entered the classroom as a TFA corps member. Many things about teaching have changed with new technologies, societal shifts, and evolving student needs. But one thing has remained true: students rely on teachers to support them every day.

I am hopeful for our students’ futures, because our state leaders have taken clear steps to attract a new generation of teachers. Their firm eye on ensuring these programs succeed is critical. 

Luisa Sparrow is the 2025 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year. She is a fifth and sixth grade special education teacher at the Oliver Hazard Perry School in Boston.