Posted from the Mississippi Business Journal (12/15/11)
The department’s recent five-year Transition to Teaching grant for the Teacher Education for Rural Middle Schools (TERMS) program is designed to provide an alternative route for those interested in teaching in rural middle schools. The university has received $446,893 for the first year, with more than $3 million to be distributed over the remaining four years.
The Transition to Teaching program specifically recruits mid-career professionals, as well as recent graduates with degrees outside of education. It also assists participants to become teachers through alternative certification routes and helps place them in high-need schools. A unique feature of the program is its distance-learning structure. All of the classes are provided online, beginning with the summer of 2012.
Prior to entering the degree program, participants must take the state licensure examination in middle grades content knowledge.
The middle school alternate route degree program will be available to anyone eligible, and special incentives will be offered through the TERMS program to match interested new teachers with high-need schools in Mississippi. These incentives include a $5,000 scholarship and two years of mentoring after completion of the degree. TERMS participants also will receive $5,000 worth of equipment for their classroom, which will stay with the school. Scholarship recipients are required to teach in the schools for at least three years.
A primary reason MSU received the TERMS grant was its administration of an earlier Transition to Teaching program, which was created three years ago for high school teachers.