Recruiting New Teachers, a nonprofit organization that runs public-service announcements to interest people in becoming teachers, has developed a resource guide to help prospective teachers enter the profession.
The 128-page Careers in Teaching Handbook is available free of charge.
The six-chapter guide includes information for people in every stage of the teaching-profession “pipeline,’' including high school students considering teaching, professionals in another field who are considering becoming teachers, current teacher education students concerned about state licensing requirements, and practicing teachers searching for ways to become more involved in education reform, the organization says.
The handbook, written in consultation with a 29-member national advisory board, also devotes a chapter to resources for members of minority groups who are interested in becoming teachers. That chapter highlights additional networks, resources, and scholarship programs for minorities.
David Haselkorn, one of the authors of the book and the president of Recruiting New Teachers, says the book “fills a heretofore unmet need we’ve heard expressed from the hundreds of thousands of prospective teachers who have contacted our campaign, as well as state and district decisionmakers and teacher educators.’'
Copies of the resource guide are available by writing Recruiting New Teachers, 385 Concord Ave., Belmont, Mass. 02178, or by calling (617) 489-6000.
Recruiting New Teachers also has developed a Spanish-language version of its award-winning “Be a Teacher. Be a Hero.’' public-service announcements.
The new ads, which will appear in print, radio, and television formats, are being distributed this fall in markets that serve Latinos.
Most of the ads feature Teresa de Garcia, who teaches English as a second language and bilingual education in Denver.
The organization has established a toll-free telephone number, (800) 969-TEACH, that will give callers immediate access to its “Urban Helpline.’' It will be staffed by Spanish-speaking counselors.
The recruitment campaign was designed to address concerns about the widening gap between the number of Latino students and teachers, the organization says.--ANN BRADLEY
