An initiative focused on recruiting more male teachers is underway with secured funding.
Miami-Dade County Public Schools hired more teachers for the 2024 school year, leveraging accelerated training programs that helped fill vacancies, reported Miami Today in August. While the Florida Education Association's latest data reports 194 instructional vacancies in MDCPS, numbers fluctuate due to retirement and turnover rates.
MDCPS and Barry University, a private Catholic University in Miami Shores, sealed a partnership in a signing ceremony on Jan. 9 as leaders from both institutions and a key donor gathered at the university to sign a Memorandum of Understanding. This collaboration will fund career pathways in teaching specifically for high school male students, aiming to address the gender imbalance in the profession and inspire a new generation of male educators.
Through MDCPS’s Project REDI (Recruiting, Empowering, and Developing Inclusive Male Teachers and Leaders Program), a cohort of 20 to 25 high school male students in grades 9–11 from selected public schools will be recruited each year. These students, with an interest in teaching, will have the opportunity to receive a full-tuition scholarship to Barry University, funded by the Gregory F. and Donna Greene Scholarship for Education Foundation.
Representatives from both MDCPS and Barry University shared that this is part of a larger effort to continue cultivating exceptional classroom leaders and shaping the future of education.
“The commitment of all of our teachers now dispersed to the children of our community is simply on fire,” said Mike Allen, president of Barry University, at the signing ceremony. “But they need help. They need reinforcements. They need a next generation of bright, talented, committed young people to embrace the joy and the fulfillment of being teachers. This partnership is about identifying, inspiring, and financially supporting our brightest young stars to become the next generation of teachers.”
A PERSONAL MISSION
Gregory F. Greene, representing the Gregory F. and Donna Greene Scholarship Foundation, which donated over half a million dollars to the program, expressed his and his wife’s deep gratitude for local public school systems.
“This is personal for us,” he shared at the Jan. 9 signing ceremony, reflecting on how they met at North Miami Senior High School and how Broward County Public Schools delivered a well-rounded education for their children.
“Unfortunately, teachers in our country are not always valued as they should be,” he said, highlighting the financial challenges teachers face in South Florida, including the rising cost of living, student debt, and the need to take on second jobs to make ends meet.
He stressed the need to shift society’s perception of teachers, recognizing them as more than just classroom instructors but vital key players for progressing communities.
“Teachers are leaders, creators, and problem solvers,” he said. “They take on countless roles, bring diverse skills, and adapt to meet students' unique needs and challenges. Unfortunately, that’s one reason we’re losing them to other professions. We must do a better job of retaining them.
“It’s an investment in society, a bigger picture thing,” Greene continued. “We feel strongly that many of the challenges we face can be solved through education. It’s truly at the core of a strong and healthy society.
“We want new teachers to fully focus on the most important job in the world, which is educating our next generation of professionals,” he said. “We hope our scholarship can help remove the burden and motivate students in Dade County public school system to study at Barry University and return to teach in Dade County Public Schools.”
A NEW FRONTIER
MDCPS Superintendent Dr. Jose L. Dotres, who signed the memorandum on behalf of the district, reflected on coming full circle by helping others achieve their dreams – just as he once did – at the very same institution.
“Had it not been for Barry, I would have never entered the teaching profession,” Dotres told the audience, reflecting on his journey from the corporate world, where he worked as a field auditor for American Express, to following his dream of becoming a teacher through his studies at the university and making a lasting impact on the lives of children.
“Barry is a very special place for me personally,” he said. “It's an organizational dream for us [MDCPS] to lift the teaching profession and carve out opportunities for more male teachers,” he said.
Dotres noted that only 8% of the teaching profession is represented by men.
“Having men teachers is important for students to be able to experience another perspective, instead of getting one side of the coin,” Greene said in an interview with the Biscayne Times.
“Some of my best teachers were men, but they were rare,” he said. “This program is working on bringing more male teachers to become exceptional male role models in our community.”
Dotres told the Biscayne Times that he was one of the few “career changers” back then, someone who switched careers to become a teacher. He said that this nontraditional pathway has become increasingly common in schools today.
“Sixty percent of teachers we hire are not or have not pursued teaching as a profession,” Dotres said. “These kinds of teachers bring a wider set of talents into teaching that can invigorate and increase the capacity of teachers for the many different programs we offer in schools.”
Career changers across many disciplines offer the skills and experience to make a difference in students’ lives, he said. Dotres also highlighted that a teaching career with MDCPS offers diverse opportunities, including a competitive salary approaching $60,000 – depending on experience and qualifications – slightly above the national teacher average.
“We have plenty of opportunities for anyone that enters the teaching profession, and we need more men to come to be role models and do the exceptional job that they can, thereby growing into many other professions within our school district,” Dotres said.
TEACHER SUPPORT
Teacher retention is crucial in reducing turnover, says MDCPS District Director Kadesha Dean. She explained that once individuals join MDCPS as teachers, they become part of a supportive network of educators dedicated to helping one another succeed.
Once enrolled in the Project REDI program, male senior high school students engage in collaborative learning sessions and mentoring opportunities to develop their knowledge and skills in being effective teachers. This includes a five-week Summer Practicum Experience, exploring theoretical and practical frameworks about effective teaching as well as character and ethical development.
After students graduate with their bachelor’s degree and return to teach at MDCPS, they continue to be supported in their development to becoming high-quality teachers through paired mentoring and ongoing professional learning opportunities coordinated through the New Teacher Support Division.
“We don't ever want them to feel neglected or devalued because they had a problem and that wasn’t addressed,” Dean said.