SDE to Receive Grant to Prepare Teachers for Education Work-based Certification

Today, Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) announced that the South Carolina Department of Education received a $129,839 grant per fiscal year in the five-year alternative teacher certification project.The grant was awarded by the United States Department of Education under the Transition to Teaching Program. The project, titled Program of Alternative Certification for Educators (PACE), will allow South Carolina to recruit and retain uncertified adults interested in teaching, and allow them to become certified over a three-year span. To enter PACE, applicants must hold a bachelor's or master's degree in their subject area, pass the Praxis II subject area exam, and have a job in the South Carolina public school district.PACE participants are required to complete a series of training programs with an approved program provider, as well as complete three graduate courses, which are prescribed based on the participant's first year teaching performance evaluation.Nearly 30 percent of the teachers currently participating n the program are males, and the percentage of minority teachers participating in the program is just over 32 percent. Twenty-three percent have a master's degree; 77 percent have a bachelor's degree; 47 percent are 21-30 years old; 25 percent are 31-40 years old; and 46 percent are 41 years or older.###