In many parts of the United States, there is a growing shortage of music teachers to take the place of the retiring teachers. This is most evident in rural areas. If music teachers are not available to fill openings, music positions are sometimes combined, spreading music teachers too thin and requiring them to possess multiple music proficiencies. Sometimes the only option for rural schools is to hire teachers on temporary licensure who have not achieved music certification. This issue necessitates increasing the number of students interested in becoming music teachers and focusing on careers in difficult-to-fill positions. Looking more deeply into the reasons students choose to become music teachers, Martin Bergee's 2001 survey of MENC collegiate members revealed that a majority of music education majors decided to become music teachers while still in high school and 14 percent during their elementary or middle school years. This article discusses the Music Teacher Apprenticeship Program which was implemented by the Kansas Music Educators Association. This program was designed around an apprenticeship program implemented at Carroll High School in Carroll, Iowa, and another in Huntington Park High School in Huntington Park, California, in the 1990s. Its goal is to incite interest in pursuing the music teaching professions and to develop well-rounded musicians who would be capable of successfully completing a degree in music education. (Contains 1 figure and 6 notes.)