Pathways to Teaching
The
idea behind Pathways to Teaching is to bring
AmeriCorps members into careers in
teaching and education professions by
improving and developing teacher
certification programs. This involves creating
pathways for young people with
one to two years of practical experience,
often in low income communities, to
earn teaching credentials. The project will
support low-income communities by
increasing the qualified teacher
pool.
Why Pathways?
Retention
of quality, certified teachers is a nationwide
problem, and schools are under
increasing pressure to meet federal rules that
require a skilled teacher in
every classroom. Schools need to attract
teachers to fill gaps in high shortage
teaching areas and, more specifically,
low-income areas, which have the worst
retention rates. Meeting this need requires
not only locating teachers who are
willing and able to work in such environments,
but also matching the diversity
of the student population with an equally
diverse teaching force.
ICP and
Pathways
In an attempt to
promote such noble interest, ICP, in
collaboration with the National
Commission on Teaching and America' Future
(NCTAF), Washington
Commission for National and Community Service
(WCNCS), Office of the
Superintendent of Public Instruction
(OSPI), and the University
of Washington College of Education
(UW),
is working on a project in the state
of Washington entitled, "Pathways to Teaching."