Business-savvy teachers add up

A soggy economy and the re-evaluation of goals after Sept. 11 have led to an influx of midcareer educators.

As an undergraduate seven years ago, Katie Konieczny considered becoming an elementary school teacher but opted for psychology instead.

By Ann Therese Palmer
Special to the Tribune

"I couldn’t see myself being an effective teacher without more life experiences and maturity," says Konieczny. "I wasn’t ready."

After graduation, she spent five years in two Chicago marketing firms. Earning about $48,000 annually, she worked on launches for Kraft Foods’ Boca Burger and DiGiorno Pizza and coordinated Lunchables’ product tie-in promotions.

But her yen for teaching never abated. So two years ago, she applied to one of Chicago’s newest alternative teacher accreditation programs.

Nowadays, the 29-year-old’s chief contact with Lunchables is in her 6th-graders’ lunches at Paul Revere Elementary School on Chicago’s South Side, where she earns $34,000.

"I don’t miss anything about my old job," she says. "When the students understand a concept, it’s so much fun to watch their faces. It’s so much more rewarding."

Other working professionals would certainly agree. Konieczny is just one of nearly 400 Illinois teachers alternatively certified since the state legislature revamped the law five years ago. Nationwide, about 200,000 adults have become certified to teach under alternative accreditation state laws since 1985, when such laws began to change.

They’re attracted to teaching for several reasons, say education experts and the newly certified teachers.

"The simultaneous occurrence of the bad economy and the Sept. 11 attacks, which made people sit up and rethink their lives, certainly have contributed to this trend," said Emily Feistritzer, president of the National Center for Education Information, a Washington, D.C.-based educational research group.

Programs are accelerated

Konieczny made her transition to teacher through an alternative program called UNITE (UrbaN Impact Through Education). The program is a partnership with Inner-City Teaching Corps, a local not-for-profit organization that trains urban teachers, and Northwestern University.

UNITE is an accelerated program, specially designed to enable midcareer and retired professionals to become state-accredited teachers.

Twelve other Illinois universities and colleges operate similar programs. So does Golden Apple Teacher Education, a partnership of Golden Apple Foundation, the Chicago-based not-for-profit education group, with four educational institutions.

The programs combine intensive graduate-level education coursework and a full-time teaching internship. Candidates receive certification after they complete successfully three standardized state examinations, the internship and a comprehensive assessment of their teaching performance.

Accredited through Aurora University, Marcia Carino of Bolingbrook teaches 7th-grade language arts at Traughber Junior High School in Oswego. She made the switch in 2001, when her job at Showtime Networks was eliminated.

She began working as a substitute teacher for several west suburban districts. "I loved being with kids and using different approaches to teach them different things," she said.

Rigorous certification process

As rewarding as teaching is for newcomers like her, the certification process is equally rigorous, starting with the application process.

Last year GATE received 400 applications nationwide for 53 places, according to Dominic Belmonte, program director.

Then there’s the shock of getting back into the studying mode, the new teachers say.

"It was demanding and challenging," said former Commonwealth Edison commercial accounts manager Mike Vollinger, 34. "What undergraduate students spend four years doing, we did in one summer and a school year, while teaching full-time, on our own, in classrooms. It was an intensive bombardment of methods and classroom management skills, but I loved it. "

"It was tough going from talking to adults to talking to people half my age," adds Toni Foxworth, 35, a St. Xavier University MBA and former Pullman State Bank corporate trainer.

Certified through Governors State University, Foxworth teaches 8th- and 9th-grade math at Coolidge Middle School in south suburban Phoenix, where she also launched an innovative life skills course. Students select a profession, interview for a job in that sector, learn to dress for success and manage a checking account.

Chicago Public Schools will hire about 20 percent of its new teachers annually through alternative-certification programs, said Toni Hill, a district human resources manager. "It helps us in areas where we have severe teacher shortages, like math and science."

Adding practical experience

"Because of their work experience, these teachers bring a more practical element to classrooms than just theory," added Steinmetz Academic Center Assistant Principal Eunice Madon, who’s worked with five alternatively certified teachers.

Just as they’re changing teaching, teaching is changing them, say the new instructors.

"I’ve learned that you will succeed with some students, but not everyone," said former television production company CEO Peter Lenz, 57. "It may take another teacher, or even another student in the same classroom to get the light to go on with a student."

Lenz teaches 6th-grade language arts and social studies at Disney Magnet School on Chicago’s North Side.

Both Golden Apple and ICTC hope to expand their programs. With several local universities, Golden Apple is considering submitting a special education alternative certification proposal to the State Board of Education.

"It would be quite complex, but there’s such a need," said Elaine Schuster, foundation president.

With Northwestern University, ICTC also is exploring the feasibility of launching a program to help its UNITE graduates attain alternative principal certification.

"Given their age and experience, these graduates will be able to assume school leadership positions much more quickly," said Patrick G. Ryan Jr., ICTC president and founder.

That’s also a goal of Konieczny, the former marketing manager.

"I’ve definitely left the business world, but the business world hasn’t left me," she said. "After I become an experienced teacher, I hope to become a principal. I still have a business mindset."

– – –

Teaching programs plentiful, tough

Thinking about teaching as a second career? Here’s a primer:

Who offers alternative certification programs?

Governors State, Illinois State, Southern Illinois at Carbondale, Roosevelt, Benedictine, Northern Illinois, National-Louis, Aurora, Concordia, St. Xavier Universities plus University of Illinois at Chicago and Elmhurst College.

There are also two partnerships that offer certification. Inner-City Teaching Corps and Northwestern University partner in the UNITE program. GATE, Golden Apple’s program, partners with Northwestern, Elmhurst College, Concordia University and St. Xavier University.

How much do programs cost? How long are they? Programs cost students about $4,000 and last 12 months.

How tough is admission? Most programs won’t accept applicants with less than a 2.5 undergraduate degree grade point average or 3.0 for graduate degrees. Others are even tougher. Last year Governor’s State received nearly 100 applications for 30 spots. UNITE received 70 for 10 places.

How grueling is it?

In June, UNITE’s program starts with four days of teacher training and coursework from 7:30-5:00 p.m. The fifth day is more coursework. Eight weeks later, the school year starts–all-day teaching plus after-school seminars, enrichment activities, and teacher mentoring.

What’s the dropout rate?

About 5 percent, primarily due to family illnesses or spousal transfers.

Anything else?

"We’re cautious about people who say they’re applying because they love all children," says Golden Apple’s Dominic Belmonte. "We wonder what’s really propelling them toward teaching? Is it they who really need the love? If so, why?"

"Flexibility and a sense of humor are imperatives," adds UNITE’s Matt Smith.

— Ann Therese Palmer

Copyright © 2003, Chicago Tribune

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0309250256sep25,1,549298.story?coll=chi-business-hed