If you’re thinking about a new career — one where you can make a real impact on the lives of young people — consider becoming a teacher. It’s not only a rewarding profession, but there’s also a huge demand for teachers and excellent starting salaries.
If you have a bachelor’s degree, teacher training is now faster and less expensive — thanks to the Alternative Teacher Certification Pathway developed at Texas A&M University–Central Texas. As part of the Master of Arts in Teaching program, the ACP is actually producing more effective teachers than traditional training methods.
“We made sure that we created classes that were intense and taught by veteran tenured teachers — and what’s also unique is the field experience you get. That’s what makes our program different from other universities and for-profit schools,” said Shelley Harris, Ph.D., associate professor of curriculum and instruction, and distinguished graduate faculty in the College of Education and Human Development.
The program was exactly what Jose Sepulveda — a former army staff sergeant who did five combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan — was looking for. While studying for a B.A. in psychology, he learned how the lack of male role models in minority communities created serious problems.
“The research showed that this is why there are higher crime rates, and why so many male students drop out of school,” he said. “As a teacher, you can be a constant in a student’s life, and they can come to you in a time of need. I wanted to take on that challenge.”
He’s now helping kids every day as a teacher and sports coach at Rancier Middle School in Killeen.
One key to successful teaching — classroom management
To understand the causes of the current teacher shortage, Harris and her colleagues studied the data.
“We saw that many teachers are leaving because they had trouble with classroom management,” she said. “In our program, we teach you how to handle students, how to work with parents, even how to walk into a classroom.”
For Sepulveda, this training was invaluable — and one of the most important things he learned is that when a child acts out, there’s always an underlying issue, and it’s important to find out what that is.
“I had a student who was always getting in trouble, acting out towards teachers, and I just kept talking with him to build his trust,” he said. “Eventually he was able to share some of the struggles he was going through, and I could use my experiences in life to help guide him.”
Another important component of classroom management is diversity — and that’s not only about different races and ethnicities. There are differences in learning abilities, economic backgrounds, living situations — and the Alternative Teacher Certification course teaches you to deal with all of it.
Online classes — then a paid internship
After two eight-week sessions of online university classes, the Alternative Teacher Certification internship can begin — with a full salary and benefits. And you won’t be out there on your own. You’ll have a mentor at the school and a supervisor from the university to help with anything that might arise.
At the end of your internship, when you’ve completed all the state requirements, you’ll be a certified teacher in Central Texas, a region known for having plenty of teaching jobs available and salaries starting at $50,000 a year.
The program can also lead to other careers in education, and Sepulveda is now enrolled in the 30-hour Masters of Educational Leadership program, which opens the door to becoming a school principal.
“If you aren’t feeling fulfilled in your work, think about taking this path,” said Harris. “As a teacher, you can really make a difference.”
For more information about A&M–Central Texas’ Alternative Teacher Certification Pathway, call 254.519.5438 or visit tamuct.edu/teach.
