Endow the Teacher Assistant Pathway to Teaching (TAPT) Program
Teacher retention has been a nationwide issue for years, and recently it has become more severe: “Within the first five years, 45 to 50 percent of our educators are leaving the profession,” Renee Pinkney, president of the Utah Education Association, said in 2023. Teachers educated at Weber State tend to buck that trend. A Utah legislative audit in 2021 found that teachers from WSU have the lowest turnover rate among graduates from Utah universities.
The Teacher Assistant Pathway to Teaching (TAPT) program is a big reason for that difference. TAPT takes experienced teacher assistants who have been nominated by local school districts or charter schools, and supports them in becoming licensed teachers through a combination of financial aid, district partnerships and support activities. More than 95% of TAPT program graduates are still working in Utah schools after eight years.
TAPT began small, with just a few students in 1997. Over the years, more than 220 teachers have graduated.
Each year, program administrators seek private funding to support current TAPT students and admit new students. This funding is primarily used to cover students’ tuition, ensuring that financial constraints do not hinder their education. Thanks to generous donors, the number of participants increased to 47 in
the 2023-2024 academic year, the highest in two decades. The TAPT program paid $154,984 in tuition, an average of $3,297 per participant.
A stable TAPT endowment would enable us to recruit a consistent number of students each year and provide a reliable teacher workforce. The amount needed to endow the TAPT program fully is approximately $4 million.
TAPT By the Numbers
47 current participants
3.5 years average completion time
92% certification rate
Wildcat Spotlight
Lea Flinders was always interested in being a teacher, but her life took a different path. She was working as a paraeducator in the Box Elder School District when she learned about the TAPT program at Weber State.
“I was talking to my supervisor about it, and she wrote a date down on a sticky note and told me, ‘This date’s going to come whether or not you go back to school, so you may as well just go.’ And so I went for it.”
As a nontraditional student with six children, Flinders wasn’t sure she would fit in or succeed at WSU. “There were so many times when I thought about giving up, and there was always somebody in my corner pushing me on and encouraging me.” Since graduating in 2022, she has been teaching fourth grade in Box Elder district.
Support the TAPT program by making a gift today.
To learn more about the TAPT program, contact a Weber State University development director.