Stumbling blocks remain for newly minted teachers, career-switchers
By Alexandra Moses
Ana Arroyo-Montano spent the first year in front of her class fearing she’d be fired.
After training in the Boston Teacher Residency program, the business major with five years’ experience in financial aid services wasn’t prepared for a room of kindergartners who didn’t speak English.
“Here I had all these kids and they’re lagging behind all the general-ed kids, and I’m wondering if it’s me,” she says. “José can’t count in English yet. Is that because it’s developmental? Is it because he doesn’t understand a word I’m saying?”
David Johnson (center) switched careers to become a teacher in Indiana (Photographer: Todd Moore, courtesy University of Indianapolis)
Career-changers like Arroyo-Montano are increasingly entering classrooms across the country. Their numbers have doubled over the last 20 years, in part due to alternative certification programs that welcome professionals from diverse backgrounds. There’s a new push to expand these pathways as states scramble to increase their chances of winning second-round money in President Barack Obama’s Race to the Top competition, which is
