As the national teacher shortage persists and school districts strive to diversify their educator workforce, the University of Maryland College of Education is taking meaningful action through the EdTerps CARES Network: Building Community, Access, and Resources for Educator Success.
Launched in Spring 2024 and funded jointly by the College of Education and the University of Maryland’s Do Good Campus Fund, the EdTerps CARES Network is designed to recruit and retain community college transfer students—particularly those from racially and ethnically minoritized backgrounds—into teaching programs at UMD. The initiative provides academic, emotional and professional support to help students succeed and feel seen, heard and valued throughout their time in the College of Education.
Between 2017 and 2019, nearly half (47.2%) of the college’s Department of Teaching and Learning, Policy and Leadership (TLPL) transfer students identified as Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC), compared with just 28.8% of first-year students in TLPL. This makes transfer student outreach an essential strategy for increasing the recruitment and retention of multilingual and racially and ethnically diverse teacher candidates who will help diversify the educator workforce and mirror the diversity of the student population in public schools.
The EdTerps CARES Network builds an intentional community of faculty, staff and students within the college. Events are centered around academic support, community building and professional development—including writing workshops, alumni-led mentoring and informal social gatherings to foster community.
The network hosted a Baseball PreGame Social in early April, where students and allies came together to relax, connect and celebrate their progress. Earlier in the semester, they organized a bracelet-making and candy apple station and supplied back-to-school resources. The network also hosted an array of workshops designed to promote success in and out of the classroom, such as an executive function workshop and in-person and virtual workshops to help students prepare for the transition into the teacher preparation program.
The College of Education hopes to secure additional funding to expand the program’s impact next academic year. For more information on how to support the EdTerps CARES Network, contact Alison Jovanovic at ajovanov@umd.edu.
