Remember when you were a kid and adults would frequently ask you that annoying question: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” It seems like the most popular answer was always along the lines of “superhero”, “pro athlete”, “firefighter,” “policeman,” “doctor,” and “teacher”. If your answer was “teacher”, it’s not too late.
The Alternate Route to Teacher Certification (ARC I & ARC II) is an innovative program conducted by the Connecticut Department of Higher Education to attract mid-career professionals into teaching.
ARC is intended for persons from diverse fields such as industry, government, the military or human services who wish to change careers or those who want to reenter the work force. Individuals who have worked as substitutes, or who have experience as independent school teachers, also are encouraged to apply. A minimum of a bachelor’s degree and an academic major in the subject you wish to teach are among the criteria.
Both ARC I and ARC II consist of two major parts. The first part is either a very rigorous 9 week period of full-time intensive instruction during the summer (ARC I) OR a very rigorous 24 week period of part-time instruction on Friday evenings and all day Saturdays during the school year (ARC II). The second major part of each program consists of two years of closely supervised teaching in a Connecticut middle or secondary school.
For further information on the ARC program visit the ARC webpage at: www.ctohe.org/ARC