DOE gets federal
recruiting grant
The state will try
to lure professionals
after winning $2.4M
The Hawaii Department of Education has won a $2.4 million federal grant to draw midcareer professionals and others into teaching by allowing them to start work in the classroom while earning their certification.
The State Teacher Alternative Route program will give aspiring teachers a chance to earn an instructor's salary and benefits at Hawaii's public schools while taking classes in education in the evening, according to Fay Ikei, a director in the Office of Human Resources.
"Most of our adults need to be working during the day," she said yesterday, when the grant was announced. The fledgling teachers will have mentoring and other support.
The program will focus on recruiting teachers in high-need subjects who are willing to work in rural areas such as Oahu's Leeward Coast, and remote areas of the Big Island, Molokai and Lanai, which have had trouble retaining qualified teachers.
"We are looking at various shortage areas, such as special education, math and science," Ikei said.
Plans are to train 575 new teachers during the five years of the grant, starting with 50 in its first year and ramping up over time. Currently, alternate certification efforts in Hawaii produce from 50 to 100 teachers a year, according to Ikei.
Now that the grant is in hand, the department will line up a college partner and develop the program. The first group of students is expected to start next fall, according to Bert Itoga, personnel specialist.
"This is designed to bring professionals and other qualified people who want to contribute some of the things they know from the outside world into the classrooms," Ken Meyer, deputy assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, said yesterday. "Some of them make the best teachers."
Along with attracting people with business and military backgrounds, the program also is geared toward helping paraprofessionals already in the schools climb the career ladder into teaching.
"We're looking at our educational assistants and trying to move them up," Ikei said. "They've been working with the kids and are part of the community. We're trying to build longevity by using our local people."
Many teachers recruited from the mainland wind up leaving after a few years. Officials hope this new approach will increase retention among new teachers.
"You're not going to have the mainland recruit who enjoys three years in Hawaii and then goes back home," said Itoga. "They will be older, more committed to the islands. One of the benefits of this program for students is having teachers who stay. The students will get continuity."
The STAR grant is part of the federal Transition to Teaching program. The University of Hawaii has a separate Transition to Teaching grant to recruit math and science teachers, which offers up to $5,000 toward tuition and other costs. But its classes meet during the day on weekdays.
Candidates in the STAR program will receive a 24-month provisional teaching certificate. They can earn from $28,000 to $32,000 a year, depending on their educational background, while they are completing their teacher education program.
