Fast-track UH program looking to fill teacher shortage

December 1 deadline for innovative Transition to Teaching program

HONOLULU — The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa College of Education (COE) is looking for individuals who have a passion to teach. With a severe shortage of mathematics and science teachers at the secondary level, Transition to Teaching (TTT), a federally-funded program, was launched in 2002 to resolve the shortage. Over the past three years, the COE has recruited 70 participants and is looking for at least 30 additional candidates to meet its goal of producing 100 highly qualified teachers. The program has been struggling to find individuals and now, in its final year, hopes to make a strong last recruitment effort.

TTT targets individuals who are looking to change their careers to teaching mathematics and science, and those who graduated with a non-Education degree. Interested individuals are encouraged to apply to the College of Education‘s fast-track, three-semester program—the Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Secondary Education (PBCSE).

TTT supports students with a $1,500 stipend per semester for three semesters and reimburses students who successfully pass the PRAXIS™ tests required to teach in the state's public school system. In return, students must commit to teach for three years in a Hawaiʻi public school. Since this is the final year to recruit candidates into TTT program, interested individuals should contact Jocelyn Surla Banaria, Program Manager, at jbanaria@hawaii.edu or 956-6093 by December 1, 2005.

The College of Education at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa is working with the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Education, UH Mānoa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, and the UH community college system. The four entities work collaboratively to recruit graduates with a bachelor‘s degree outside of education, and individuals who would like to change their careers to teaching.

For more information regarding the TTT program, contact Jocelyn Surla Banaria, Program Manager, at jbanaria@hawaii.edu or 956-6093.