Pathways to Teaching

ICP and the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future (NCTAF) are collaborating on a Pathways to Teaching project aimed at addressing the challenges of teacher shortages and retention in the most challenging schools by tapping an important pool of diverse, talented and committed future teachers—AmeriCorps members whose service focuses on education, children and young people in the most disadvantaged communities throughout the United States. Given their commitment and experience serving in challenging educational settings, ICP and NCTAF believe that AmeriCorps members are a powerful resource for schools with high teacher shortages and low retention rates, if provided with suitable pathways to obtaining the necessary teacher certification. As such, ICP and NCTAF are working with various stakeholders to catalyze Teacher Residency Programs to provide non-traditional pathways into education careers that capitalize on the experience and commitment of AmeriCorps members.

Why Pathways?

Teacher shortages are a nationwide problem and schools are under increasing pressure to meet federal rules that require a skilled teacher in every classroom, especially in low-income communities. Between 1994 and 2004, approximately 2.25 million teachers entered the classroom, while nearly 2.7 million left, 2.1 million of those before retirement according to a report released by NCTAF in April 2009.Recruiting and retaining enough qualified teachers in the classroom is challenging and meeting these needs requires identifying new pools of potential teachers who are experienced and willing to work in such environments, helping to increase the racial and ethnic diversity of the teaching force, and providing new teachers with critical, on-going training and support.

Since 1995 approximately 540,000 individuals have served as AmeriCorps members throughout the United States. Nearly 75,000 AmeriCorps members serve each year, and the Kennedy Serve America Act, which received significant bi-partisan support, provides for the expansion of AmeriCorps to 250,000 members each year by 2017. The majority of AmeriCorps members throughout the country serve in positions that involve working with children and youth; many in schools, pre-school and Head Start programs, after-school programs, day care centers and early childhood literacy programs through America Reads. They are a diverse group that is trained not only in the basics of education, but also in community outreach and organizing. AmeriCorps members have also demonstrated a strong desire to stay in the school districts where they serve.

To date policymakers and education professionals have virtually overlooked AmeriCorps as a mechanism through which to attract new teachers to the most disadvantaged communities and provide them with credentials. There is a large pool of AmeriCorps members who gain significant experience in schools in the poorest communities throughout the country each year and have demonstrated a desire to remain in these communities and schools after completion of their service. There are no formal nation-wide pathways to attract AmeriCorps members into the teaching profession Alternative certification programs designed to complement and benefit from AmeriCorps members experience will better enable school districts to tap into this experienced and dedicated demographic to meet their teaching needs long-term.

The Pathways to Teaching Idea

ICP and NCTAF will work with a consortium of residency programs in several states throughout the country to incorporate pathways for inclusion of AmeriCorps members. The partners will target locations with a strong AmeriCorps presence and university initiatives to facilitate the development of pathways to teaching models. Together, ICP and NCTAF will be able to scale up effective models for a wide-reaching impact.

ICP and NCTAF bring together community-based AmeriCorps programs, school districts and universities to build service and certification programs that combine the members’ service in the community with the education necessary for certification. Members’ experience working in education settings will be combined with college coursework to create a unique teacher certification program that overcomes the existing barriers such as lack of information on how to become a teacher that is tailored to AmeriCorps members, programmatic requirements and costs that AmeriCorps members face in transitioning to teaching careers. Additionally, ICP and NCTAF will provide technical assistance to a consortium of teacher residency programs as they design pathways to teaching programs for AmeriCorps members.

With a nation-wide alternative pathway for AmeriCorps members, the idealism and passion of AmeriCorps members to serve their communities will be channeled into the classroom as they fill critical teaching needs in low-income communities throughout the US. Sobering ‘real-world’ experience in the AmeriCorps program can balance idealism and allow for the development of the skills necessary for overcoming the challenges of promoting learning.