PINE BLUFF, Ark. — As students across Arkansas head back to class in the coming days, some schools are still dealing with staffing issues.
It's a problem many districts across the country have dealt with in recent years.
Colleges like the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff are trying to help fix this by focusing on future teachers right here in the Natural State.
You can ask any little kid what they want to be when they grow up – throughout the answers, you might find some doctors, firefighters, and probably some teachers.
For many who enter education, they describe the profession as being “a calling.” But, in recent years, that call has been answered less and less.
Kimberley Davis, Dean of the School of Education at UAPB said that there’s a need for educators with passion.
"There is a need for passionate individuals who love kids and are willing to be able to make a difference," Davis said.
She said that Arkansas, like many other states, has experienced a teacher shortage for quite some time.
The university hopes to help change that narrative with their education preparation program.
“That program helps them become licensed. I think that teaching is not just a skill. Teaching is not just something that you can wake up and say, ‘Oh, I think I want to become a teacher.’ Teaching comes from the heart," Davis said.
The program's goal isn't just about helping teachers become licensed, but then encouraging them to stay here to build up the Natural State.
“I think that's what really the goal is is to encourage our students here to become teachers, and also to stay here in Pine Bluff in that Arkansas delta, and give back to the students in the schools," she said.
It's especially needed as the interest in becoming a teacher has been on the decline for decades.
Once the top major for students, the National Center for Educational Statistics shows that only 4% of college students now study education.
One of the big reasons why? Low pay.
"Teaching is a calling but teaching is a profession. It is a passion that you must have, that you want to make a difference in the lives of children. We need teachers," Davis said.
She said the program that UAPB offers can cause a full circle effect because leading by example can open doors for others to follow in your footsteps.
"It's a feeling that no one can ever take away. Just a feeling when you work with a child, and you visually see that light bulb come on and you know that you're really making that difference,” Davis said.
She said if you have an undergraduate degree that's not in education but want to pursue teaching -- you also qualify for this program.