Professionals return to class as teachers

Debbie Sudduth prepares a lesson for her eighth grade science class at Cascade School. (T-G Photo by John I. Carney) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

The Teach Tennessee program attempts to deal with shortages in math, science and foreign language teachers by giving mid-career professionals a fast-track way to get into teaching. It's a combination that educators say benefits everyone involved.

Debbie Sudduth, the daughter of the late Bedford County educator and administrator Bill Holland, pursued a minor in secondary education when she first attended Middle Tennessee State University but kept being assigned to kindergarten classes, which weren't her passion. She dropped the minor and became an information services (IS) director, eventually working at what was then known as Bedford County Medical Center.

But the job wasn't conducive to family life, and Sudduth has three daughters. She read a story in a Nashville newspaper about Teach Tennessee on a Wednesday in April 2005. She picked up an information packet that afternoon, and that night at church she was already asking friends to fill out letters of recommendation.

"Really, the program popped up at exactly the right time," she said.

Sudduth was part of the very first Teach Tennessee class. She attended a "teacher boot camp," including two weeks of instruction in one stretch and other sessions totalling an additional week.

She received her teaching certificate in August, but there were no openings in Bedford County right at the beginning of the school year. A job opened up at Cascade in October and Sudduth has been there ever since, teaching eighth grade science.

"The kids are fun, and I love it," she said. "I'm a goofy person; goofy translates very well into eighth grade."

Sudduth uses her real-world experience from the world of information services to tell her students about the importance of mathematics, but -- being eighth graders -- she's not sure how much of it they take to heart.

Following a dream

Becky Davis enjoys her new career as a Shelbyville Central High School teacher. (T-G Photo by John I. Carney) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

Becky Davis had always wanted to teach, but as a young woman she was discouraged from teaching by her parents because of the low pay. Instead, she went into the health care field, working in a hospital laboratory and then in doctor's offices.

"I loved health care," she said, "but I've always wanted to be a teacher."

She knew Debbie Sudduth and when Sudduth was profiled in the news media as a member of the first Teach Tennessee class, a light went on in Davis' head as well.

Davis taught health occupations at Bedford County Vocational Center during the 2006-2007 school year before formally entering the Teach Tennessee program in the summer of 2007. Her classmates included a podiatrist, a lawyer and engineers, all of them looking to start new careers in education.

Davis completed the training and began teaching chemistry and physical science at Central High School. It was, as her parents had once warned her, a cut in pay from her previous occupation, but she couldn't be happier.

Davis said she would never have been able to make such a career change if she'd had to quit work altogether and go back to school for an education degree.

On the fast track

The traditional Teach Tennessee program uses an intense summer training to give potential teachers some of the background in educational techniques and theories that they would receive in traditional college education classes. That, combined with the teacher's real-world experience in the subject matter, allows participants to hit the ground running and enter the classroom right away.

"You're taking the knowledge and experience you have, and you're adding to that," she said.

Frustrated students sometimes ask what good a particular skill or bit of knowledge is ever going to do them in the real world.

"'When am I ever going to use this?' You can answer that for them," she said.

"I'm actually glad I went the health care route first," she said.

Teach Tennessee participants must continue their training for several years. Each summer they meet with their classmates from the training program, and they must also take a certain number of hours of professional development courses over and above, and separate from, the courses required by the school system.

"It's not an 'easy out,'" said Davis. The training course was so intense that some of her classmates weren't sure they would be able to complete it.

"But it's very helpful."

Warm responses

Davis worried that her colleagues at SCHS might treat her differently or resent the fast track that had brought her into the classroom. But she said she's been well-received.

Davis, like Sudduth, also has three daughters, and she said they've been excited for her career change as well.

Sudduth worked with a mentor, Elaine Beaty, a retired teacher who was also serving as a teaching consultant to Harris Middle School at the time. Beaty is the mother-in-law of noted walking horse trainer Link Webb.

She has completed additional hours of training over the past several years and is now in her second year as a fully-licensed professional teacher.

Sudduth is delighted with her career change.

"It was so different," she said. "It was just nothing like what I was doing."

Davis said she has been surprised at the advances in technology and in teaching techniques since she was a high school student herself.

"We don't just lecture anymore," she said. Different strategies are employed to keep students focused.

Helpful attributes

Sudduth is asked every month or so about the Teach Tennessee program and says she would definitely recommend it to others, with the caveat that right now, the program's emphasis is on math, science and foreign language, and on those mid-career professionals who have relevant experience to those areas. She noted that even an accountant, who might seem a perfect fit for teaching math, may not have experience in all the kinds of math needed for teaching.

Experience working with children and youth, whether as a substitute teacher or in a church, club or athletic program is also a definite asset.

Sudduth warns that some people may need to apply more than once before being accepted. One local teacher, she said, was turned down the first time he applied for Teach Tennessee but was accepted the next time.

"It can be done," said Davis. "Most people are afraid to step out of that comfort zone."

The state has licensed 200 teachers in the Teach Tennessee program since 2005, with an 83 percent retention rate. The state is now expanding the Teach Tennessee concept. Mid-career teachers like Davis and Sudduth are part of the Teach Tennessee Governor's Fellows program; a new Commissioner's Fellows program will train recent college graduates for high-need subject areas like math, science and foreign language.

"Our programs remove many of the obstacles standing in the way of a great teaching career," Teach Tennessee Executive Director Becky Kent said in a news release. "We can give many people the chance to fulfill their goal of becoming a teacher while creating a valuable new pool of teachers for our state."

Both Teach Tennessee programs are accepting applications through Feb. 26. For more information, go to www.TeachTennessee.org.