TEACHING REINVENTED:

Alternate Route to Certification Addresses Teaching Shortage

Step into the classroom and you’ll find a space brimming with potential. Whiteboards line the wall, ready to express ideas and concepts. Shelves are lined with books, each one a gateway to new worlds and fresh perspectives. To seniors Carly Braginton and Sophi Rivera, this is more than a classroom — it is a place where they will have the privilege to motivate, support and empower young people to reach their full potential.

Braginton and Rivera are part of The University of Olivet’s Teaching Pathway program. This one-ofa-kind program is a clear and unique path through alternate route certification that provides extensive classroom teaching experience. Partnering with #T.E.A.C.H., a Michigan alternate route provider, UOlivet creates opportunities for students to get into paid teaching positions upon graduation from The University, no matter their major.

“This is an excellent program because it addresses the teacher shortage in our state and provides our students with great opportunities to give back to their community. A student can graduate with a bachelor’s degree and become a full-time teacher with the assistance of this alternative route to certification program,” said alumna Suzanna Flood ʼ99, director of the Teaching Pathway.

The State of Michigan designed the Alternative Pathways to Teacher Certification program for individuals with a bachelor’s degree (not in education) who want to enter the field of teaching. UOlivet’s Teaching Pathways program offers an opportunity for students to build confidence through experiences that support success in a future K-12 teaching career. This includes possibilities to work directly with K-12 students in experiential teaching and learning activities. Teaching Pathway students learn best practices for educating K-12 students, including building relationships, instructional delivery, classroom management, preparation and planning, professionalism and collaboration, and teacher expectations, in addition to assessment and delivery.

Above: Carly Braginton discusses coursework with a student as part of her Teaching Pathway program experience.

The key component of the program is the handson experience students receive. “Students can start observing a variety of K-12 classrooms early in the program. They will design an individualized servicelearning project for a school or classroom during their second and third year in the program, and, as seniors, students will be able to complete a cooperative teaching experience with a mentor teacher,” said Flood. “All these experiences will help lay a strong foundation and build the confidence needed to start a career in teaching right after graduation.”

Braginton, a music major from Plainwell, recently taught at W.K. Kellogg Preparatory High School in Battle Creek. “UOlivet is known in general for small class sizes and oneon-one connections with professors, and this translates directly into the teaching program. We participate in observations in schools to get an idea of what grade and subject we want to teach. This is a great opportunity that we get as soon as first year," she said.

Hearing about the success of the Teaching Pathway program and the need for teachers convinced Braginton that this was the best path for her to take. “A traditional teaching program has a semester of student teaching where you pay tuition, but don’t get paid to teach. UOlivet’s program gets you into the classroom directly after graduation while earning a teacher’s pay,” said Braginton.

Rivera, an environmental science major from Olivet, recently taught at Fern Persons Elementary School in Olivet. As a transfer student from another university, Rivera appreciated the classroom experiences that the Teaching Pathway offered, including the chance to get into the classroom and work with different age groups to find out what suited her best. “This experience confirmed my feelings of being a kindergarten teacher when I was placed in a kindergarten classroom and had the opportunity to work with the students,” she said.

“Also, I thought it was beneficial that you can do student teaching through #T.E.A.C.H., get paid during that time, and be in your own classroom with the help of a provided online teaching coach. Being in the Teaching Pathway program has allowed me to form connections with faculty and students in different schools. These relationships can help further my career as an educator,” said Rivera.

Scan the QR code or visit UOlivet.edu/ Teaching-Pathway.

By the time students graduate from the Teaching Pathway, they will have foundational work in classroom planning, instructional strategies, working with families and communities, and working with diverse populations. Students will also have completed half of the #T.E.A.C.H. program and will have accumulated hundreds of hours in the classroom.

UOlivet’s Teaching Pathway provides an incredible opportunity for students to earn an alternate route to teaching certification and give back to their communities while helping solve Michigan’s teaching shortage. It’s a win-win for the state’s education system, and most importantly for the K-12 students in our state who deserve a quality education. And as Braginton and Rivera step into their future classrooms, they will exemplify the transformative impact of the Teaching Pathway program, poised to inspire and educate generations to come.