CTE Board Waives Student-Teaching Requirement for Experienced Provisional Instructors to Help Address Teacher Shortage

The Virgin Islands Board of Career and Technical Education has adopted a new policy allowing qualifying provisional instructors to bypass the traditional student-teaching credit requirement if they have already completed a full year of classroom instruction in the territory. The measure, approved during a board meeting Wednesday afternoon, is intended to help address the shortage of vocational teachers across the Virgin Islands by removing what board members described as an unnecessary barrier for tradespeople and industry professionals already teaching in local classrooms under temporary or provisional licenses. Under the new guidelines, provisional career and technical education instructors will be exempt from the student-teaching requirement for standard and advanced certification licenses if they provide verified proof from a school or district administrator that they have completed one full year of classroom instruction in the territory. Board Chair Anthony Mardenborough Jr., w...