Mass. Urban Teachers Being Groomed to Help Sway Policy

Michelle LaMarca might well have been working in a traditional public school this year if the state of Massachusetts had been able to say her credentials could be processed in less than five months.

Neema Avashia has a teaching job much like the one Ms. LaMarca was seeking in Boston, but she is disturbed that many of the younger teachers at her school are weighing whether they will stay for the coming school year.

Ms. LaMarca, 28, and Ms. Avashia, 29, know firsthand that their profession is not living up to its potential. And they know, too, that the shortcomings are making it hard to keep talented Generations X and Y teachers in the classrooms where...