Leaders from Montgomery College, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and Montgomery County Public Schools today launched an innovative new teacher recruitment and education program, "Recruiting at Home: Students to Teachers."

Connecting early and following through are the keys to this new partnership. Dubbed a "2+2+2" program for its structure – potential MCPS teachers are recruited in their final two years of high school, attend Montgomery College for two years, and complete their final two years of study at UMBC – the program is the first of several teacher recruitment and development partnerships being struck with community colleges.

MCPS will orient high school juniors to the teaching profession and provide pre-internship experiences and internship opportunities for participating students. Students who wish to enter the program apply to both Montgomery College and UMBC and follow a structured, four-year curriculum drawing on the resources of both institutions.

"What makes this program special is the amount of synergy present," says Eugene Schaffer, chair of the UMBC education department. "Students in the cohort are concurrently enrolled at Montgomery College and UMBC -- this goes beyond articulation to a merging of each institutions resources and program."

After four years, the students will graduate with an associate’s degree from Montgomery College, a bachelor’s degree from UMBC and Maryland teacher certification. MCPS will work with the students throughout their collegiate career, providing internship opportunities and, prior to graduation, recruiting them to teach in Montgomery County, bringing the program full-circle.

Approximately 25 percent of teachers hired each year by MCPS are graduates of the school system. The Recruiting at Home program will provide a way to increase these numbers and to enhance the quality of the students' preparation for a career in teaching. UMBC will provide students in the first cohort, which is expected to enroll approximately 25 students in the fall of 2001, with $500 scholarships for their time at UMBC, counseling and internship placement into Montgomery County schools.