Work Full time.Child. Bachlelor's Degree. How much more school should I need?

Question

I have a bachelor's degree from '94. Would like to go back and get a teaching degree in IL. Does anyone know how much school I would need? I work full time and have a son, so time and money are definately going to be issues. Thanks for your help!

Answer 1

There are several programs all across the country, for people with bachelor's degrees who want to go into teaching. For student loan purposes, you'd want one that leads to a master's degree or a graduate certificate. Most of these take a year or two.

There are several school districts, mostly broken urban ones, that will give you a full-time job in a high-needs school, and some financial assistance towards a progam leading to certification. It is particularly easy to find funding for programs leading to special education certification. Those positions are always in demand, and recent laws have made that need more urgent.

I went through one of those alternate certification programs myself. After several years, the memory of the trauma is starting to fade. Now I work at the district level, where it is actually helpful to know exactly what goes wrong at dysfunctional schools.