Career Switcher Program - Secondary Education
The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) recognizes the critical shortage of classroom teachers, particularly in mathematics and the sciences. As well, VDOE realizes the potential of career changers and what they can bring to the classroom. VDOE has approved an alternative route to teaching via a Career Switcher licensure program. Mason’s College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) is qualified to deliver this approved Career Switcher program in the secondary content areas of: math, earth science, chemistry, physics, biology, social studies/history, and English. Answering the following questions will help you determine if Mason’s Career Switcher program is for you:
1. Do you want to teach one of the subjects highlighted in the paragraph above?
2. Do you have the equivalent of an undergraduate major in the one of the highlighted subjects above?
3. Have you attended a Mason Information Session “Think You Want to Be a Teacher”?
4. Have you completed the On-line Endorsement Review and discovered you have no content coursework missing?
If the answer is “No” begin taking the course(s) right away.
If the answer is “Yes” register to take the PRAXIS II exam.
5. Have you taken and made the Virginia cut off score on PRAXIS I, PRAXIS II and VCLA?
6. Are you able to document at least 5 years of full-time work experience.
If you answered “yes” to all six questions, you are a good match for the Career Switcher program at Mason. If you answered “no” to any of these questions, you should complete what is required to be able to answer “Yes” well before the upcoming application deadline OR consider the regular Secondary Education program. For a detailed comparison of our fast-track (Career Switcher) versus traditional Secondary Education program, please click here.
News and Announcements
So You Think You Can Teach?
 Victor Lena completed the Career Switchers Program and left his job as an electrical engineer to teach middle school. Photo by Lori A. Wilson |
This fall is sure to be full of challenges and surprises for Victor Lena. After 37 years, Lena is trading in a lucrative career as an electrical engineer to fulfill a lifelong dream of teaching. Having thought about teaching at various times during his engineering career, Lena felt it was never quite economically feasible, since he has three children.
"When my middle son entered his fourth year of medical school, I was confident there was indeed a light at the end of the 'tuition tunnel'," says Lena. "I began to explore post-engineering alternatives in earnest, and it didn't take long for the idea of teaching to reassert itself."
Having completed Mason's Career Switchers Program in May, Lena now teaches math, algebra and life science to middle school students at the Philip Michael Pennington School in Manassas, Va.
Vision Series: Margo Mastropieri
This presentation will describe how research with exceptional populations can advance our understanding of all human learning and cognition and may contribute to the development of a theory of learning and instruction. In this view, research on individuals with special learning needs can help uncover processes or skills overlooked by a solitary focus on more efficient learners. Mastropieri will discuss what her research has provided and how it informs us about learning. She will examine the future research directions to narrow the difference between what we have learned and what we could learn.
Subscribe to CSP - Secondary Ed RSS.
