A new teacher apprenticeship program in Bullitt County Public Schools is designed to combat the teacher shortage by putting seniors on a fast track to a career in education.Starting next school year, the district will select five seniors to become apprentices. They'll earn dual credit through the University of Louisville and Jefferson Community & Technical College while getting paid to get classroom experience."They get to work every day with our teachers. All the planning days, all the planning lessons, all the professional development trainings," said Dr. Lee Barger, the district's college and career readiness director. "They can experience everything our current teachers experience, which is far and above just getting observation hours."According to Barger, getting the experience before graduation will help students develop the skills necessary to navigate their careers."They're going to find out quick and fast if teaching is for them before they put all that money into their education," Barger said.If they've taken the right courses, students will be able to graduate high school and earn their teacher certification in as little as two years. During that period, Barger said they will take education classes at UofL and continue working for the district."We want to help our future and our future students by providing quality, trained educators," Barger said.He told WLKY he hopes students will earn their certification and then come back to work in the Bullitt County School District so they can teach the future kids in their community.Students can get certified for early childhood, elementary, or special education. Apprentices will start off earning $7.25 per hour and up to $7.75 per hour by their third year in the program.Bullitt County Public Schools' teacher apprenticeship program is only the third of its kind in Kentucky. You can learn more by calling 502-869-8000.