Florida International University, Miami Dade College in teaching catalyst

A program designed to fast-track graduating seniors and career changers to enter Miami-Dade County schools as certified teachers is expanding to Miami Dade College and Florida International University.

Starting in spring 2024, MDC and FIU will offer classes in partnership with the Teacher Accelerator Program (TAP) to support the local talent pipeline of educators. Participants will enroll in a one-semester course followed by a six-week paid summer internship in which they earn a certificate to teach and are prepared to instruct in the county’s public school system.

A Miami-based non-profit, TAP recruits, trains, places and mentors aspiring teachers and is an initiative of Achieve Miami, supported by Teach for America Miami-Dade. As classrooms across the US face a talent shortage, TAP works to solve the issue by providing built-in pathways to teaching, inspiring a new generation of educators.

The program is in its second year and building off its pilot at the University of Miami in which 40 college seniors completed the course and have been placed in Miami-Dade County classrooms.

Now that TAP has been put in place at MDC, all adults with a four-year degree can enroll in the program for the first time. College students on track to graduate and those with degrees can sign up for course EPI 0004, with enrollment available until Jan. 9. For career changers, applying to MDC is the first step to course enrollment.

At FIU, students projected to graduate with a degree in any major can enroll in course EDG 3321, conducted in person on campus. The enrollment period for the spring semester is open through Jan. 16. UM students can join TAL 590 and graduate students are able to enroll in TAL 690 through Jan. 24.

The expanded access to TAP at MDC and FIU comes as classrooms in Florida and across the country contend with a chronic talent shortage. The Miami-Dade County Public School System started this fall semester with over 200 vacancies.

With thousands of students without a full-time teacher, TAP serves as a solution by creating a pipeline to a career in education and recruiting a next generation of teachers.

“Many college graduates and career changers have skills that are tailor-made for teaching, but they lack a clear path to the profession,” said Leslie Miller Saiontz, founder of the Teacher Accelerator Program. “TAP opens their eyes to the benefits of a career in education and guides them through the process of becoming a teacher.