Health & Fitness
Looking to Change Careers? You Should Become a Teacher.
With the job opportunities available in South Carolina classrooms, switching your profession to become a teacher provides a rewarding, new career for yourself - and a great service to your community.
The American Board is an education 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to building communities by recruiting teachers locally. The organization offers an online teacher certification program that is accepted by the South Carolina State Department of Eduation (SDOE) as a route to educator licensure.
The American Board assists career-changers in twelve states with the transition to the classroom. Since the organization’s founding in 2001, thousands of teachers have received their certification through The American Board.
According to a recent report from the U.S. Department of Education, there are critical shortages of Math and Science teachers in South Carolina[1]. As a result, The American Board is working diligently to fill local classrooms with role models who are well-suited to address the challenges faced by today’s educators.
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The organization is authorized to certify in South Carolina for Biology, Chemistry, English Language Arts, General Science, Mathematics, and Physics, all for the high school and/or junior high levels. With an average age of 39, American Board candidates often pursue teaching positions following a career-change in the fields where they have professional experience and/or hold a Bachelor’s degree (a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university is a requirement of the program).
Michelle Gilmer is an American Board alum from South Carolina who teaches Math at Pendleton High School in Anderson. A former engineer, she entered the teaching profession because she wanted to “utilize [her] work experience by bringing real-world mathematics applications to the classroom.” In 2011, Michelle Gilmer was honored with the American Board National Teacher of the Year Award for her outstanding achievements as an educator. According to Pendleton Principal, Heather Gordon: “While Ms. Gilmer may be newer to the profession, if you saw her teach you would think she has been challenging minds for 15 years.”
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With the number of job opportunities currently available in Missouri classrooms, Gilmer’s success story is achievable for the members of the Columbia community who are considering a career-change to teaching. And with the American Board program, those career-changers can be successfully running their own classrooms and making a difference in their communities within a year.
The American Board will be hosting a series of information sessions about the program and South Carolina teacher certification in Columbia:
- Tuesday, April 2nd at the Richland County Main Library
- Saturday, April 27th at the Richland County Main Library
Click on the event link to register. Sessions are an hour in length and start at various times. Advance registration is highly recommended, as space is limited.
There will be more events held in the Greater Columbia Area. Click here to view the upcoming schedule.
Event contact: Katelyn Price, (803) 600-8010, kprice@americanboard.org.