Federal cuts to teacher preparation programs disproportionately impact Nebraska students

Asraa Allami didn’t think she’d go to college. She and her family are originally from Iraq, but she was raised in Lincoln.

College always seemed like such a big undertaking: she had limited generational knowledge about it and thought she wouldn’t be able to afford it.

“For me it was like, I know I don't have the money, so what would I do?” Allami said. “I'm a first-generation student, so my family also is like, ‘We don't know what you would do. We don't have an idea how to get you into this thing, or how to help support you through this.’"

As a high school student, Allami was introduced to a program for creating more student interest in becoming a teacher. She excelled in school and that high school program put her on the fast track to be a part of Project RAÍCES at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in partnership with Kansas State University. She was one of 16 students to receive a full-ride scholarship to become a teacher.

“I've always said that Project RAÍCES really gave me my voice,” Allami said. “Project RAÍCES has honestly helped me discover what is the difference I can make and should make, and how should I do that.”

RAÍCES, which stands for Re-envisioning Action and Innovation through Community Collaborations for Equity across Systems, started receiving official funding in 2023 and launched with students last year to help build the pipeline for future teachers to stay in Nebraska and fight brain drain.

It was one of the latest programs to lose its federal grant due to national rollbacks on systems that promote diversity, equity and inclusion. Less than a month after the announcement to cut the program, two national educator associations filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education for what they called “illegal” actions to cut more than 100 teacher preparation programs in the country. The U.S. Department of Education cut more than $600 million from teacher training programs.

Dominque Howse, with the Center for Black Educator Development, said public education is currently facing a “crisis” in building up the pipeline of teachers.

“We’re just getting a glimpse of what’s to come,” Howse said. "As educators and education advocates, we can't dictate the current administration's vision for future policies, but what we can do, is continue our work in advocating for education equity for all students, including those most impacted by inequitable policies and practices."

The Center for Black Educator Development focuses on rebuilding the national pipeline of Black teachers.

“We need more teachers in the policy conversation," she said. "Right now, we have billionaires dictating what's happening to working-class families and for children of working-class families, which is not okay."

Along with the 16 university students who will lose their full-ride scholarships in Project RAÍCES at the end of the school year, an additional 65 high school students throughout the state will lose support and mentorship offered through the program.

Project RAÍCES did not solely define diversity as a racial or ethnic idea. It focused on socio-economic and geographic diversity, like supporting rural schools.

Wakefield Community School District in northeastern Nebraska was one of them. The district has fewer than 600 students, and just short of 50 teachers, according to Nebraska Department of Education data.

“My motivation was anything, any resource that we could use to open the door of an educational career to any kid in our school,” said superintendent Matt Farup.

While Farup said he understands people are concerned with diversity programs excluding certain groups, Project RAÍCES was open to anyone who wanted to be a teacher.

“This program is not discriminatory, it's not exclusive,” Farup said. “It's trying to help us solve a problem that in three years will be an unbelievable crisis for every school district.”

He’s talking about the continuing teacher shortage in Nebraska. As of publication, Farup said Wakefield has two open teaching positions with no applicants, and he’s expecting future retirements and resignations. He recently filled another open position with someone who came out of retirement to help out.

Across Nebraska, schools reported almost 670 unfilled positions at the start of this school year. More than a quarter of those were in districts with less than 1,000 students.

Federal data shows this is a nationwide issue, with 86% of schools across the U.S. reporting hiring challenges. Studies show rural districts have the biggest problem keeping teachers.

Project Specialist Courtney Johnson estimated this cut will heavily impact schools that were reliant on the students, who intended to return to their home communities to teach.

“It's tough. The cuts across the board are really painful, or will be painful for Nebraska and Kansas both to bear," she said.

Ted Hamann, a Project RAÍCES co-leader, is one of the people who shared the news to the students that the program funding was ending two to four years earlier than planned.

“We owe them trying to figure out a different way to solve this problem,” Hamann said. “I'm frustrated that I have to figure out a different way, because we were pretty excited about the first way.”

Hamann and Johnson’s resolve is shared by the students in the program, like UNL freshman Ali Waly who said he’s applying to any scholarship he can to continue his education degree. But the timing of the cut announcement makes it difficult to meet deadlines.

“This was our entire future. This was the culmination of all our hard work. Something that people should understand is that we earned this," he said.

Waly recalled the day the students found out about the funding cuts as a sad one.

“Honestly, I've heard some people say that it was almost like a funeral, just the feelings and just the dread and the crying,” Waly said. “We were mourning.”

Waly added he’s dedicated to being a teacher in his community. He is studying secondary education at UNL and hopes to teach in Lincoln Public Schools after he graduates, which is the district he attended.

"I'm already here, like, I understand this community," Waly said. "This is the place I grew up. That's just one of the reasons why I think I would be so good at this job."

As for Allami, she wants to teach in a lower-income area. The future educators would have taught in five school districts that struggle to retain teachers, including three rural ones.

This story was updated on March 11 to indicate the national scope of the Center for Black Educator Development.