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Teaching
program launched for laid-off workers, spouses
By
Amy Geiszler-Jones
An
extension of WSU’s alternative teacher certification program
has been launched to help laid-off aerospace workers and their spouses
start new careers in classrooms.
Scholarships
for the Wichita Aerospace Transition to Teaching, or WATT, program
are being provided by the city of Wichita, which has committed $100,000
through a special U.S. Labor Department Workforce Investment Act
program it administers.
In
the first three weeks following the Dec. 21 announcement of the
program by Raytheon Aircraft’s CEO Jim Schuster – the
company is providing $236,000 from its charitable gift fund to manage
the program and provide mentors – the WATT program’s Web
site logged more than 1,500 hits.
"Most
are just inquiries to find out what the program’s about,"
said Bob Lane, who coordinates the alternative teaching certification
program. Several people are also calling for information –
on one recent day Lane had a list of more than 60 phone calls to
return. And the phone keeps ringing, with 25 to 30 calls coming
in daily for program information.
Lane
says the program has already resulted in eight to 10 new students
enrolled in the alternative teaching certification program.
The
WATT program is helping laid-off workers from aerospace companies
or related industries and their spouses redirect their careers into
one of the hottest job fields.
It
is projected that area schools will need approximately 130 to 160
secondary teachers for the 2002-03 school year in math, science,
English and foreign language. The latest projections from the Bureau
of Labor Statistics indicate the demand for teachers is expected
to grow about 17 percent by 2010.
Those
applying to the alternative certification program through the WATT
program can also pursue elementary education, Lane says.
Because
they will draw unemployment, the laid-off workers accepted into
the program will be unable to start substitute teaching during their
first semester in the program. Some students in the alternative
certification program substitute teach during the day and attend
WSU classes at night; others make the transition without substitute
teaching experience.
During
the summer the laid-off workers will continue to attend classes
to prepare for provisional certification and potential jobs in area
schools in the fall.
For
more information on the program, call Lane at 978-6580 or visit
http://www.wichita.edu/education/alternativecertification.
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