Pacific Oaks, Los Angeles County Partner to Train Teachers from Underserved Communities

They already know the children. They know the neighborhoods, the families, and the particular challenges of teaching in underserved communities. What they lack are the credentials and completed Bachelor’s degree.

This spring, 18 working adults employed in early childhood settings across Los Angeles County will begin a new pathway to becoming credentialed transitional kindergarten teachers. Most are first-generation college students. Many come from the same historically underserved neighborhoods where they hope to build careers.

“Most of the educators who are going through this program are actually the first person in their immediate family to go to college – first-generation students,” said Dr. Breeda McGrath, president of Pacific Oaks College and Children’s School. “There are folks, many of whom are coming from historically underserved communities.”

The three-year partnership between Pacific Oaks College and the Los Angeles County Office of Education, valued at $800,000 according to LACOE records, targets working adults already employed in early childhood settings who lack the credentials to teach in universal pre-kindergarten programs.

The initiative arrives amid a national teacher shortage of striking scale. According to the Learning Policy Institute’s “An Overview of Teacher Shortages: 2025,” approximately 411,549 teaching positions across 48 states and the District of Columbia are either unfilled or filled by under-qualified teachers—roughly one in eight positions nationwide.

McGrath identified cost as the primary obstacle facing prospective teachers.

“This particular partnership is funded by local Workforce Development dollars. The grant is going to make such a difference and remove one of the biggest and most important barriers for people who want to finish their bachelor’s degree and get their early childhood educator credentials,” she said.

To keep working adults on track, Pacific Oaks offers online education and flexible course scheduling, McGrath said. She described the college’s approach as high touch and individualized.

“We have a strong reputation for being very student centered, for having a very high touch approach to students,  really ensuring that we’re focused on their success and reducing the barriers they might have experienced in their education elsewhere,” she said.

“We had 18 teachers start in spring, and we’re excited to help them stay on track and finishing on time,” McGrath said. “When life circumstances get in the way we are there to support them and work together to lift the obstacles or work around them”

The partnership also reflects a particular educational philosophy. Dr. McGrath, a school psychologist by training who began her career as a high school teacher in Ireland, described Pacific Oaks’ approach as trauma-informed and culturally responsive—methods that acknowledge students’ varied life experiences and consider how cultural backgrounds shape learning.

“When students are educated in an environment where they feel like they belong, where they see that their experience is important, and they feel like they’re seen and understood, their academic success is so much stronger,” she said.

LACOE, the regional education agency serving 80 school districts and nearly two million preschool and school-age children in Los Angeles County, andPacific Oaks  have worked together on teacher education projects over the years, McGrath said. California’s transitional kindergarten expansion has brought both opportunity and demand: more jobs for early childhood educators and more families seeking quality programs for their children.

The LACOE partnership is not Pacific Oaks’ first attempt to build teacher pipelines at the County level. According to a Pacific Oaks College press release from September 2023, the college launched a three-year, tuition-free teacher residency program with the Sacramento County Office of Education, targeting up to 150 new K-12 teachers funded by a California Department of Education state residency grant. That partnership includes full academic-year classroom placements and three-year employment contracts for graduates.

Closer to home, Pacific Oaks partners with local community colleges and  school districts in Los Angeles County on transitional kindergarten professional development, reportedly serving 75 to 100 current educators and launching cohorts of early childhood educators, according to Pasadena Now, citing Pacific Oaks College.

The LACOE partnership differs in scope and funding stream—targeting specifically TK credentials for 18 working adults through workforce development funds rather than CDE residency grants—but follows a similar cohort-based, employer-partnered model.

McGrath characterized this initiative as limited in scope but expressed hope it would serve as a model for other Districts and County Offices.

“The credentials are one piece,” she said, “but the stability and empowerment of the educator workforce is truly the ultimate success factor.”

Most Pacific Oaks students live in Los Angeles County, according to McGrath. The first cohort of 18 educators began in January.