Beech Tree News Network

The U.S. Department of Education awarded a federal Transition to Teaching grant to the Green River Regional Educational Cooperative on behalf of 20 of its 36 member districts and their 96 schools in 2009.  The third cohort begins work in June 2012.

By receiving the Transition to Teaching grant as part of a federal push to help school districts recruit skilled mid-career professionals and recent college graduates into teaching careers, GRREC could place up to 100 new teachers in Kentucky throughout the duration of the 5-year grant.

All teachers trained through this project will be placed within these eligible schools districts:

Adair County             Campbellsville    Elizabethtown      Monroe County
Allen County             Caverna Ind.      Grayson              Ohio County
Bowling Green Ind.    Cloverport Ind.    Green County      Owensboro
Breckinridge             Cumberland        Hart County         Russellville
Butler County            Edmonson          Metcalfe County   Todd County

Funds in the grant will cover the cost of nearly 50 percent of graduate-level tuition costs associated with obtaining teaching certification through WKUs alternate route. GRREC has previously operated two similar Transition to Teaching projects and has already placed 134 highly qualified teachers within south central Kentucky.

New Teacher Candidates will be selected from two pools or groups of individuals who have a Bachelor’s degree but who do not currently have teaching certification:  (1) The project will recruit career professionals who have worked in a field related to the content they hope to teach. For example, an engineer may qualify science based on his/her degree and work experience. A social worker or parent of a child with disabilities might be an ideal candidate for a position as a special education teacher; and (2) the project will recruit recent college graduates who, in spite of the fact that they did not pursue a teacher certification track in college, have a strong interest in teaching. 

Candidates will be recruited from across the region, with GRREC and the school districts screening each to find those with outstanding professional and academic backgrounds and to identify the best matches for the eligible districts. Each candidate will enter the classroom meeting No Child Left Behind (NCLB) standards as a highly-qualified teacher, as defined by the U. S. Department of Education.

Over the four years of the grant, up to 25 candidates each year will start on their path to becoming teachers by enrolling in WKU’s Alternative Route to Certification through which they will ultimately obtain their Masters of Arts in Education.  This 30+ hour, 17-month graduate-level program of study will focus on content enhancement, research-based instructional strategies, classroom management, etc. Close to fifty percent of tuition will be paid through the grant.  Financial aid is also available for the additional tuition costs. 

Candidates will enter area classrooms as teachers after the initial summer of university coursework and during their first year of teaching will complete their Masters degree by taking night, weekend, online, and summer courses.  These new teachers will also receive the support of a master mentor teacher during their first two years in the classroom.

Detailed information on the program including qualifications for applicants may be found at GRREC’s website (www.grrec.ky.gov). After reviewing the information, potential applicants may address additional questions to Project Coordinator Stacey Owen at 270.563.2113, [email protected].

Information Session:
January 9, 2012 - 5:30 -6:30 p.m. - Green River Regional Educational Cooperative Office and Training Center, 230 Technology Way, Bowling Green, KY

About GRREC: The Green River Regional Educational Cooperative is a nonprofit consortium of 36 member school districts in central Kentucky and Western Kentucky University.  GRREC provides professional development services to educators with a focus on quality teaching to foster student learning. The Cooperative operates more than a dozen collaborative programs impacting more than 100,000 students, teachers and administrators.