By Dawn Papandrea

Ready for a new career, but don't have the disposable income to quit your job and go back to school? You're not alone. Twenty percent of today's teaching force is comprised of novice teachers from alternative route programs, according to the U.S. Department of Education (DOE). Such alternative certification routes offer programs that can be completed in anywhere from one to three years, and may be offered in part or wholly online. The majority of programs are specifically designed to fill shortages in specific subject areas, such as math, science, special education, and English as a Second Language (ESL). No matter what the focus, each recognize earlier academic preparation and life experience–so professionals attracted to teaching don't have to start at the bottom all over again.

Alternative routes to Education are indeed opening career doors for thousands who might never have fulfilled their teaching dreams otherwise. In fact, nearly half (47 percent) of those entering teaching through alternate routes say they would not have become a teacher if the option had not been available, according to the National Center for Education Information's "Profile of Alternative Route Teachers" (2005).

Barbara Westbrook would agree. After graduating with a bachelor of science in accountancy from Arizona State University, she spent almost five years in the Air Force as an auditor until retiring to become a stay-at-home mom. Later, she headed back to work as an office manager and bookkeeper for various employers. Finally, at age 44, the Gainesville, TX career hopper decided what she really wanted to do with her life is be more like her husband–a teacher.

"I had considered teaching as a career in the past, but never acted on it," she says. "Darrel has been teaching high school for five years now and thought it would be great for us both to be teachers. He knew how much I would enjoy it, and he also wanted to have summers off together."

Westbrook did some research and enrolled in the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program at Texas Woman's University (TWU), an alternative program that requires a bachelor's degree in any field. "I was able to finish the MAT program at TWU in two years going part time and online." Westbrook continued working full time until she began student-teaching during her last semester. "If I had to start from scratch, it would have taken too much time to finish," she says.

A lesson in getting started

Currently, all 48 states in the continental U.S. have alternative certification programs in place, implemented in approximately 600 program sites. States in which the teacher demand is greatest offer the most opportunities. For instance, Florida recently passed legislation that every district in the state had to have alternate routes. Areas like Georgia, the Carolinas, New York, California, and Louisiana have also seen tremendous growth in their alternative certification programs due to high demand.

Each state has its own specific rules, exams, and requirements for teacher certification. "The average [program length] is around two years, but it could take anywhere from one to three," explains C. Emily Feistritzer, president and CEO of the National Center for Alternative Certification, an outreach program established in 2003 via a DOE grant to provide a clearinghouse of information to those seeking alternative routes to Education careers. "Some programs don't require any college Education courses taken on a campus; some require 30 credit hours."

There is however, one commonality: on-the-job training. "In practically all of these programs, teaching while getting certified [is required]," says Feistritzer. This "earn while you learn" situation is usually proceeded by an intense orientation, and in many cases, actual course taking, she notes.

For some earning alternative certification, teaching in high-needs schools for a specified period of time is part of the deal, as is the case with New York City's alternative Teaching Fellows program. In two to three years, candidates earn their certification and master's degree while teaching in inner-city schools. While they learn, they earn the same starting salary ($42,517) as traditional NYC teachers. Upon completion, they are placed into one of the largest city school systems in the world. This school year, one in 10 of the approximately 78,000 teachers in the New York City public school system is a Teaching Fellow.

(To find out about each state's specific offerings, visit Teach-Now.org, The National Center for Alternative Certification's Web site.)

Teachers on the rise

DOE figures show that the number of alternative route teacher preparation program completers has risen nearly 40 percent from 2000 to 2004. "The demand for teachers continues to grow, primarily because it's projected that a large segment of the teaching force will retire in the next five years," says Feistritzer.

Also fueling interest in the field is what Feistritzer calls a "value shift."

"The new phenomenon is this real ground flow of interest in teaching on the part of people who 20 years ago weren't even considering it," she explains. "People really do see life for giving back, and there's certainly an element of 'I've been running around on airplanes for 30 years… now I want to spend time with my family.'"

For Westbrook, the opportunity to spend extra time with her family is finally upon her, as she looks forward to beginning her classroom career at the start of the new school year this fall. "With the many different ways to obtain a certificate, anyone can do it," she urges. "I think older adults have a lot to offer as teachers."