Teachers from Alternate Route Programs Ranked Highly By Principals

Principals report that teachers from alternative certification programs are as good or better than other beginning teachers

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Nov. 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Over 90 percent of school principals across California ranked teachers from alternative certification programs as good or better than other beginning teachers, according to a survey conducted by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CCTC). Generally, hiring school districts believed that teachers from alternative certification programs were as good or better in planning and implementing instruction (92.1%), classroom management (89%), and providing effective teaching strategies (90.1%).

"Principals are reaffirming what we already know - professionals who choose to pursue an alternate route into the classroom are not only highly qualified, but they are an invaluable asset to our public schools," said Catherine Kearney, president of the California Teacher Corps. "Alternative certification programs across the state are attracting talented individuals who bring with them to the classroom deep content expertise and established professional experience. The California Teacher Corps is working closely with these programs to continue to recruit second-career professionals, and other committed individuals who are willing to serve in the public schools that need them the most."

The survey also found that nearly 95 percent of principals would hire additional teachers from alternative certification programs. Lastly, the survey found that 90 percent of hiring school districts believe that alternative certification programs help to meet their need for teachers in critical shortage subject areas.

The California Teacher Corps, a new statewide organization, formed this past August to represent the more than 70 alternative certification programs throughout California. Formerly a loose affiliate, these programs have joined under one umbrella to focus on the recruitment of second-career professionals and other content experts, establish new alternative certification programs where they are needed in the state, offer technical assistance to strengthen existing ones and provide a unified voice for these programs. The Teacher Corps has a goal of placing 100,000 highly-qualified teachers in California public schools by 2020.

The survey is conducted by the CCTC for the purposes of program improvement. The survey was completed by site administrators, or principals that employ teachers from alternative certification programs, across California in the spring of 2009. Site administrators completed a survey of performance for each teacher who is placed from an alternative certification program.

About the California Teacher Corps
The California Teacher Corps is a nonprofit organization established in 2009 with the goal of placing 100,000 highly-qualified teachers in California's communities by 2020. The CA Teacher Corps provides a unified voice for the state's alternative certification programs, effectively and proactively addresses teacher preparation issues facing California and recruits the best and the brightest professionals to teach in the public schools that need them most. CA Teacher Corps membership trains second-career teachers, and others committed to working in hard-to-staff schools, who have deep subject-area expertise and who remain in the teaching profession. For more information, visit the California Teacher Corps at www.cateachercorps.org.

About the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing
The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing is an agency in the Executive Branch of California State Government. It was created in 1970 by the Ryan Act and is the oldest of the autonomous state standards boards in the nation. The major purpose of the agency is to serve as a state standards board for educator preparation for the public schools of California, the licensing and credentialing of professional educators in the State, the enforcement of professional practices of educators, and the discipline of credential holders in the State of California.