Education Dept. Grants Aim To Attract Professionals to Teaching in High-Need Schools
The United States Department of Education has announced $6.86 million in grants to help attract professionals and recent college graduates (with degrees in disciplines other than education) to careers in K-12 teaching.
Dubbed "Transition to Teaching," the program will help "mid-career" professionals and recent grads to become teachers and obtain certification through alternative means.
"Some of the best teachers enter the field after years in other professions," said Arne Duncan, secretary of education, in a statement released this week. "This program will help more people who want to make that transition, and it helps connect schools with the greatest need with those new teachers."
The grants are being awarded to universities, school districts, and other organizations to "develop and implement comprehensive efforts to train, place and support teacher candidates, either through existing or alternative paths to teacher certification," according to the Education Department.
Awardees include California State University, Dominguez Hills ($642,686), Fresno Unified School District ($450,000), and Oakland Unified School District ($415,200) in California; Hillsborough County Public Schools ($450,000) in Florida; Georgia Professional Standards Commission ($755,499) and DeKalb County School System ($368,944) in Georgia; East St. Louis School District 189 ($469,323) in Illinois; Green River Regional Educational Cooperative ($306,646) in Kentucky; University of Maryland ($447,649); Mississippi State University ($608,123); William Patterson University ($669,782) in New Jersey; New Visions for Public Schools ($444,204) in New York; Guilford County Schools ($388,979) in North Carolina; and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction ($440,513).
Further information about the program can be found here.