This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, March 2, 2009 - In tough economic times, when tax revenues steeply decline, the teaching profession isn't spared from hiring freezes and layoffs. But its relative stability still attracts some people to classroom jobs and to academic programs that prepare them to teach.
Gayle Wilkinson is co-director of a teacher certification program at the University of Missouri-St. Louis that's designed for career changers. She said she's seen a marked spike in interest in the program over the last few months - likely because of the economy. To meet demand, UMSL recently hired a full-time adviser for people who are planning to switch careers.
Financial stability is just one of the reasons people consider entering teaching as a second profession. In fact, it's common to hear new teachers say that low pay is what kept them from the classroom in the first place, even though they'd always wanted to work at a school.
"Most of the people we interview tell us either that they wanted to be a teacher and their family talked them out of it, or a teacher impacted their life and they want to give back to their community," Wilkinson said.
In high school, Chris Cronin had planned on teaching as a first career. But he got involved in the air freight business and rose up the ranks during his 14 years in the industry. More than 10 years ago, at the age of 32, Cronin went back to school to earn a bachelor's degree in anthropology. He joined Teach for America, a program that allows recent college graduates to enter the classroom before they've received full teacher certification, and taught for two years in the Mississippi Delta.
Cronin became Teach for America St. Louis program director in 2002, and four years later became a biology teacher at Roosevelt High School.
"Even though I was making good money [in the air freight business], I wasn't really getting anything beyond that out of my job," Cronin said. "It was just a job, and I knew that my heart was in teaching."
More Inquiries, Not Necessarily Jobs
It's rare to find a school district that frowns on career changers. But it's more common - especially these days - to find one that doesn't have many openings for them.
Cathy Vespereny, spokeswoman for the Webster Groves School District, said she isn't aware of many career changers working there, in part because there's a lengthy waiting list of longtime teachers to choose from when an opening arises.
Prospective second-career teachers say they often face that dilemma - school districts want several years of related experience, but they have none.
Janet Cuenca, a retired teacher who taught in the Parkway School District, said there are highly qualified, experienced teachers who've been laid off and likely will get a look ahead of second-career candidates.
"I doubt that this current economic situation would be kind to inexperienced, older teachers," Cuenca said. "The day of being able to walk into a teaching position at any point pretty much left in the '60s."
The Parkway School District is seeing significantly more interest from first-time teachers for substitute positions, said Mary Muckler, director of human resources. But Cuenca said she's noticed that there's also a surplus of experienced substitutes to compete with career changers looking for part-time work.
Still, second-career candidates could have some advantages in this sluggish economy. They likely come at a lower cost to school districts wanting to save money.
Katie Reboulet, director of human resources at the Rockwood School District, said she looks favorably on second-career teachers because "they have real-life practical examples to share during interviews and with students - and that sometimes gives you an advantage."
Of the 180 staff members the Rockwood district hired last year, at least 10 were second-career teachers, Reboulet said.
"It's definitely becoming more common that people are making the transition to schools," she said. "I attribute it mostly to alternative certification programs that get them in the door quicker. And now the economy is pushing them here."
Making the Transition
Cronin, the Roosevelt teacher, said it took time to adjust to life as a teacher. The transition wasn't too painful, he said, because he'd learned from his previous career to be flexible.
Some career changers say the initial move to the classroom is more jarring than they expected, even if they've worked as a college adjunct or a corporate trainer. Preparing mid-career professionals for such a transition is the mission of UMSL's decade-old Career Transition Certification Program, which was created to address teacher shortages in the St. Louis Public Schools.
The district and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education jointly sponsor the program, among other groups. Students in the program receive a subsidized education, and are trained to teach math, science, art, music and special education. Completion of the two-year program leads to Missouri certification, and participants sign a commitment to stay in the St. Louis Public Schools for at least three years after leaving the program.
Wilkinson, co-director of the Career Transition Certification Program, said her research shows that teacher retention for second-career teachers depends largely on the support they get from other teachers and from their district.
The university's Transition to Teaching program (from which Cronin recently graduated) also prepares second-career students but costs them money and enables participants to teach in any district.
The streamlined American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence program, which began accepting Missouri students who seek full teacher certification last August, also targets mid-career professionals, particularly in the business and health care fields, as well as those in the military.
"It's not mostly unemployed people but those who look and say, 'I don't have good job security, I've always wanted to teach, and I'm using this time to figure this out and see if it's my next move,' " said Dave Saba, president of the Washington D.C.-based nonprofit organization.
Cuenca, the former Parkway teacher, said districts have an obligation to find out the motive for a candidate's desire to switch careers. "Some people are simply not suited for teaching," she said. "The fact that they are coming to it as a second career may indicate they had some misgivings about it in the first place."
Cronin said that while many second-career teachers are effective at imparting knowledge learned from previous jobs, some aren't cut out for the classroom.
"The problem is sometimes people who know a subject so well aren't necessarily the best ones to teach it," he said. "They just see it, and it makes sense to them - they don't understand the mind of a kid who doesn't get it so easily."
And some mid-career professionals enter teaching while keeping their first job. Patrick Cacchione, a part-time social studies teacher at Nerinx Hall in Webster Groves, remains executive director of the Illinois Catholic Health Association.
Cacchione, a former candidate for 6th ward alderman in St. Louis, received his teaching credentials in college but didn't start his career in the classroom. In his American politics class, he's spent the past two years teaching students about topics such as the Constitution and branches of government -- and he says it is the most enjoyable and rewarding work he's ever done.
Cacchione said he's able to bring real-world knowledge to students because of his experiences working on Capitol Hill and for the Walter Mondale presidential campaign.
"I don't think I could have taught this class fresh out of college," he said. "In fact, I know I could not have."