Selecting Career Changers with Real Potential for Teaching and Designing a Program to Meet Their Needs
The COVID-19 crisis is certain to have significant and enduring consequences for all sectors of public education. Although most of these consequences are negative and dire, at least two offer hope. First, appreciation for the work teachers do has grown; second, for the recently unemployed, teaching may become a more desirable occupational option. Most states offer alternative route preparation programs to attract career changers into teaching. Such programs now offer real promise as a means of addressing teacher shortages, and programs may now need to be more selective than ever before. As more career changers seek careers in teaching, the pool is larger and programs may be able to recruit more capable candidates. Because not all career changers have the same potential for teaching, and because programs know very little about candidates’ potential, we offer these guidelines to help with candidate selection. Published in collaboration with the CEEDAR Center, these guidelines are based largely on an economic analysis of candidate selection.
