Educators of Change is an

alternative certification Alternative teacher certification is a process by which a person is awarded a teaching license even though that person has not completed a traditional teacher certification program. In the US, traditional teacher certification is earned through co ...

teacher-development program instituted in 2007 by

Duval County Public Schools Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) is the public school district that serves the families and children residing in the urban, suburban, and rural areas of the City of Jacksonville and Duval County, Florida. As of 2015, the district had an enrollm ...

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the c ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

Purpose

Educators of Change was established to build a cohort of public school teachers consisting of professionals and other individuals who had achieved success outside of the education field. Currently in its second enrollment cycle, the program has attracted individuals from financial, business, communications, and non-profit areas. The program requires a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

and a subject-specific test of its applicants, and those who are selected are placed into an intensive preparatory program. Individuals who join the program are either changing careers or returning to the workforce, including retirees. In addition to business experience gained from current or former jobs, candidates may exhibit a volunteer-based leadership background.

Background

The program is one of many across

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the " United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, ...

public school districts that have been enacted to improve the quality of students' education experience. For example, the

New York City Teaching Fellows The NYC Teaching Fellows is an alternative certification program that focuses on education quality in New York City public schools by attracting mid-career professionals, recent graduates, and retirees from all over the country. The program p ...

program, which encourages mature professionals to enter teaching, is credited with helping to narrow the teacher-qualification gap between poor and well-to-do schools from 2000 to 2005 as documented in a 2008 study by the nonpartisan

National Bureau of Economic Research The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) is an American private nonprofit research organization "committed to undertaking and disseminating unbiased economic research among public policymakers, business professionals, and the academic c ...

."Better Qualified Teachers," New York Times, June 23, 2008
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Notes

External links

Educators of Change Web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Educators Of Change Educational organizations based in the United States