The New York Times had a nice piece Saturday on the Garden State's alternative certification program, the first and largest state effort of its kind. (Forty percent of New Jersey's teachers come to the classroom through this "alternative.") An idea that was once a lightening rod is no longer so:
At one time the alternate route was controversial, said Roger Leon, who took it in 1992. He is now an assistant superintendent in Newark. His superiors and fellow teachers had a dim view of teachers who had not majored in education, he said.
Mr. Leon admitted he confronted a steep learning curve. "I spent the entire weekend before school opened organizing the classroom, getting it to look just right," he said. "And then they showed up. I was like, ???Oh, my goodness.' I recall a paper airplane flying past me."
Today nontraditionally trained teachers are commonplace in Newark and in other cities. Newark hired 115 this year, as well as 37 through Teach for America, another nontraditional program.
We've long believed New Jersey's program to be a model, and wish we can say that it exemplifies the typical alternative route to teaching. Unfortunately, it does not. Other states should take a trip to the Jersey Shore this summer and find out how it's done.
