PINE BLUFF, Ark. — A national program, known as Educators Rising, is in Arkansas and leaders are hopeful that could reverse the trend.
At some point, we've all heard the question "what do you want to be when you grow up?"
For 11th grade Watson Chapel student Keiren Minter he's known for quite sometime.
"I wanted to be a teacher ever since around about third grade," Minter said.
All because one of his instructors, he said, saw potential in him early on.
"She inspired me to become an elementary teacher, because she helped me realize that that's really where it starts," Minter said.
He still has a year before he graduates, but he's already making plans to be back in the classroom in a much different capacity.
"I feel like I'm getting a head start, especially with taking the class. I now know that it's not just going to be peaches and cream when you're teaching," Minter said.
Those are things that at one point, educators could only learn with experience.
Minter is apart of Tiffany Jackson's Educators Rising class.
She focuses on different models and theories to teach these future educators.
"It'll teach five different major subjects about your persona, different things that we'll be teaching [and] it just kind of gives you an overview," Jackson said.
The Educators Rising Program is a statewide partnership led by the Arkansas Department of Education.
Students like Keiren are an example of why leaders are trying to recruit future educators early.
"Statistics tell us that if you engage them in high school years, they are more likely to stay in that career," Karli Saracini with ADE.
According to ADE, nearly 800 high school students and six collegiate chapters are a part of the program.
"We really want to increase our teacher pipeline because of the shortage of teachers," Saracini said.
Creating that pre-educator pathway, she said, will also allow schools to keep some of the "homegrown" talent within their district.
Something this school can count on.
Minter recently passed a certification that will allow him to become a paraprofessional.
During his senior year next year, half of his day will be finishing up his student duties and the other will be helping out in a elementary classroom.
"Me getting to go to these elementary schools has given me some early experience before I'll go out and get my permanent career started," Minter said.
You can learn more about the program here: https://educatorsrising.org/