TeachMN Initiative Shows Early Success Growing Minnesota's Teacher Workforce
MINNEAPOLIS – In its first year of operation, Minnesota’s new digital teacher recruitment platform TeachMN has generated over 4,800 aspiring-educator subscribers, signaling strong interest in the education profession.
The Minnesota Department of Education and the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board (PELSB) have worked closely with Minnesota nonprofit Elevate Teaching and the national nonprofit Teach.org in support of this effort.
“Every student deserves access to caring, qualified, and diverse educators," said Commissioner Willie Jett. "TeachMN is offering new pathways for aspiring educators to enter the profession and join us in making sure all students feel supported and have the opportunity to thrive at school.”
Minnesota launched the recruiting platform in April 2025 as a new way to inspire people from all backgrounds and experiences to consider the profession. TeachMN assists subscribers in navigating the path into teaching through free 1-on-1 advising, group informational sessions, financial aid, and hands-on support to enter a teaching pathway.
Since its launch, TeachMN.org has reached 40,887 unique website users, and 4,821 aspiring-educators have signed up for supportone-on-one and group advising, a database of scholarships and funding, a search tool to find high quality teaching programs, reimbursements for application fees, and email encouragement and reminders.
“Minnesota’s students deserve high quality teachers who inspire them to learn. Launching TeachMN is a significant step forward in serving students by providing guidance and support to aspiring educators looking to join the teaching profession,” said PELSB Executive Director Dr. Yelena Bailey. “We are excited to partner with TeachMN in accomplishing our shared goal of expanding access to the teaching profession and ensuring that all students have qualified educators who reflect the communities they serve.”
Recruiting Extraordinary Teachers for Minnesota
Like most states, Minnesota faces a historic teacher shortage. Minnesota will have an estimated 18,000 job openings for elementary school teachers and 14,000 for high school teachers over the next decade. Not enough student teachers are enrolling in higher education teacher programs to meet the demand, according to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.
The teacher shortage is especially pronounced in subjects like special education and math, and in rural communities and communities of color.
Minnesota is working to address this gap by providing personalized support to all people interested in becoming teachers, including career changers, students, paraprofessionals, and community members across the state.
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Coaches have supported 148 future teachers through 1-on-1 and group coaching calls
- Aspiring educators have created 230 Minnesota teacher preparation program application checklists
- TeachMN has reimbursed application fees for 110 future Minnesota educators.
- Minnesota continues building a pool of future teachers who reflect the unique backgrounds of our students and communities
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