The School District Of Lee County: Forty-One Teachers Become AlternativeLee Certified

Press release from The School District of Lee County:

07/14/2021

The School District of Lee County is proud to congratulate the 41 graduates of the 2021 AlternativeLee Certified Program. AlternativeLee Certified is the District’s alternate route to professional certification. Upon completion of the program, graduates have met state coursework requirements to become professionally certified teachers.

“We are really proud of this cohort of teachers for fulfilling all coursework requirements for professional certification,” says Chief of Human Resources Dr. Angela Pruitt. “We want to recognize their dedication and perseverance, especially during the challenges presented to them this year. The Human Resources Division is excited to continue to offer this program to career-changers and temporarily certified teachers who, with this support, will remain in the district and continue to positively impact student success. Congratulations!”

Career changers who become teachers must move from a temporary to a professional certificate within their first three years in the classroom. The AlternativeLee Certified program simplifies the process by allowing these new teachers the opportunity to meet state requirements through job-embedded tasks that support their effectiveness in the classroom. The District offers the program at no cost to qualifying teachers and they agree to teach in the District for three years after graduating.

“I thought a strength of the program was how it allowed me to collaborate and learn more from my mentor,” says graduate Sarah Steinmann. “Any questions that I had, they clarified them. The program also allowed me to think about what I am doing in the classroom and how to improve. The cost, flexibility, and having a mentor in my school made the AlternativeLee Certified Program a great option.”

The goal of AlertnativeLee is to train non-education majors in the method and practice of teaching so they can make a positive impact on student achievement and provide quality educational opportunities for children. After successful completion, the graduates may seek a professional teaching certificate in the state of Florida. Since the program relaunched in 2019, 53 teachers have satisfied all program requirements, providing the District with a 1528% annual return on investment.

This press release was produced by The School District of Lee County. The views expressed here are the author’s own.