Updated 04/25 at 10:30 a.m.
While public schools across the country are struggling to find enough qualified teachers to fill classroom vacancies, Duval County is actively recruiting non-educators and promising to help them become elementary school teachers through a new initiative called “Ready, Set, Teach!”
Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said the program provides an alternative path to the classroom by helping applicants pass the tests and get certifications, including providing tutors, mentors and education classes, which would otherwise cost the applicants hundreds of dollars.
“We know we have to own the challenge and this is a way to grow our own,” Vitti said.
An information and screening session will be held May 2 at the School Board Administration building on Prudential Drive.
Vitti said approximately 60 teacher-applicants will be accepted into the program. Those who finish are guaranteed a job with the district.
For more information about the “Ready, Set, Teach!” initiative go to duvalschools.org,
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Contact reporter Cyd Hoskinson at choskinson@wjct.org, 904-358-6351 and on Twitter @cydwjctnews
CORRECTION: The information and screening session is May 2 at the School Board Administration building on Prudential Drive.
