BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
As Florida continues to experience a teacher shortage, the state and school districts are working to bring new teachers to the profession, providing additional pathways to certification.
Christina Cornwell, coordinator of professional learning for Bradford County Schools, recently presented two of seven newly certified teachers to school board members. Courtney Hense and Juanita Burch earned certification while teaching.
Tracy Dawson, Morgan Alvarez, Leanna Norman, Tracy Snyder, and Makayla Elixson also received their professional teaching certificates during the past school year.
As Cornwell pointed out, there are multiple paths into teaching. Some enter college to pursue a teaching degree, while others who have chosen another course of study later decide their heart is in education. They “come on over to the right side,” Cornwell said.
Requesting a temporary teaching certificate allows individuals to complete all the requirements for a professional teaching certificate while employed full-time as a teacher. During that time, they are teaching while enrolled in a state-approved teacher preparation program.
“There are a few different programs that we offer our teachers in order to go from a temporary teaching certificate into a professional, which means you have taken all of the courses and met the requirements to teach our kids,” Cornwell said. She wanted everyone to know the hard work that goes into doing that, she said.
In this particular program, those aspiring to obtain a professional teaching certificate can enroll in college courses or a partnership program between Bradford County Schools and the North East Florida Educational Consortium.
Each of the 2023-24 recipients completed the NEFEC program, which requires completing 20 multipart college level assignments, according to Cornwell. Each requires hours of effort outside the classroom. In addition, depending on the certification, these teachers must complete two or five reading competencies, which adds 120 or 300 additional hours.
“That’s a lot of additional time that teachers are spending learning their craft to become experts for our students in addition to teaching full time. And we know that teaching full time is not a 9-to-5 job, so the fact that these individuals have completed their program is a boon for Bradford County,” Cornwell said.
Cornwell thanked school administrators, teachers and coaches for supporting these new certificate holders through the process, including observing and providing needed feedback.
Superintendent Will Hartley thanked Cornwell for her work with all the district’s teachers.
