Hillsborough County Schools Partners ABCTE to Plan “Become a Teacher

TAMPA, FL (January 9, 2005) — The School District of Hillsborough County will be hosting information sessions in collaboration with the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence (www.americanboard.org) on January 30 & 31 for professionals who want to change careers and become teachers.

The events will take place in Tampa and Seffner, Florida. At the sessions, attendees can meet with Hillsborough officials and American Board certification counselors to discuss how they can earn their teacher certification.

The American Board offers the Passport to Teaching certification program that is recognized by the State of Florida as a route to full certification. Passport to Teaching allows highly knowledgeable professionals with bachelor’s degrees the opportunity to pursue certification through an individualized process; no additional college courses are required.

The school district needs approximately 1,300 new teachers by next year – especially in math, science and special education. Hillsborough Superintendent MaryEllen Elia said, “Student achievement is our top priority, and because of the overwhelming growth in our county, innovative avenues to certification are crucial if we are going to have high quality educators in every classroom.”

The American Board and the School District of Hillsborough County partnered in the fall to host information sessions which attracted 400 people interested in teaching in Hillsborough schools. Following the information sessions, 70 attendees enrolled in the Passport to Teaching program.

The January information sessions will take place from 5-8 p.m. at the following locations:

January 30
Roland Park K-8 School
1510 North Manhattan Avenue
Tampa, FL 33607

January 31
Armwood High School
12000 E. US Highway 92
Seffner, FL 33584

Individuals can register online at contact 1-877-669-2228.