School districts, both locally and nationally, are facing a widespread educator shortage, and a partnership between Dickinson State University’s (DSU) School of Education and Dickinson Public Schools (DPS) is working to help alleviate the challenges associated with this issue.
“We are partnering with DPS to help address the teacher shortage while also giving our DSU teacher education students hands-on experience in the classroom,” said Amy Grinsteinner, Dean for the School of Education at DSU.
There are many root causes to the educator shortage, especially locally, including rural living challenges, private sector competition, as well as burnout and attrition, among others.
“When I earned my teaching degree in 2013, it was stressful trying to find a job and there were numerous applicants for every opening,” Grinsteinner said. “Now, almost all our students have contracts signed before they even student teach, and schools are still reaching out and asking for help with filling positions. We are seeing all kinds of creative solutions by districts to try and ensure each student has a qualified teacher. We are doing everything we can to help address this need while still producing high-quality teachers who will remain in the field.”
As part of the partnership – The Teaching and Learning Model at DPS – DSU students who meet application requirements are hired by the district to serve as the classroom teacher of record with a mentor teacher or instructional coach as the team lead. They are then able to immediately implement what they are learning in their methods and classroom management coursework.
“The application requirements continue to evolve, but we are currently requiring that students are fully admitted to the Teacher Education program at DSU, have at least a 3.0 GPA, and have completed their first methods block practicum,” Grinsteinner explained.
The first round of applicants was collected in spring 2026 and this is the first school year that teachers are in place with the model.
Grinsteinner noted the importance of partnering with DPS and all area schools, as well as what this program means to the local community.
“We need districts who are willing to open their classrooms to our methods students and student teachers, and we appreciate the feedback we receive from schools regarding the teachers who have graduated from our program,” she said. “Without this program, there would have been three elementary classrooms that didn’t have teachers this year. Additionally, we hope that getting our students in the local schools will help ensure that they stay in the area.”
While there has been a lot of work behind the scenes to make this program as successful as it has been, it’s the dedication of the students in the program that has allowed it to all come together.
“(These students) are full-time teachers who are still taking college classes. It is a lot of work for them, but they are passionate and dedicated to education,” Grinsteinner concluded.