For 10 years, Ashley Rihner toiled as a financial analyst glued to spreadsheets on a computer screen forecasting profits for a global corporation.

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Kimberly Smith/ksmith@ajc.com

Ursula Jones is into her third week of teaching physics at North Gwinnett High School in Suwanee as she begins a new career.

ALTERNATIVE PATHS TO TEACHING
The Georgia Professional Standards Commission, support agencies and some school districts offer alternative certification programs for people with bachelor's degrees interested in teaching. According to a count last spring, 8,389 of 119,018 educators statewide came to teaching through alternative routes. Candidates must complete competency and content assessments, have college degrees and meet other state regulations. For more information on the Georgia Teacher Alternative Preparation Program:
• Contact the PSC at 404-232-2500.
• Contact the Metropolitan Regional Educational Service Agency at 770-432-2404. Or contact human resources officials at Gwinnett, DeKalb and Clayton counties and Atlanta city districts for their individual programs.

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But eyeing the bottom line for a Fortune 500 firm until her hair turned grey wasn’t the future she had predicted for herself.

So Rihner left it all — the attractive salary, the benefits, the long days working from home in her slippers — to become a special education teacher at Gwinnett County Public Schools.

Rihner left corporate America to join the inaugural class of Teach Gwinnett, which places qualified candidates with college degrees into classrooms. Rihner says moving from finance to education cut her pay by more than half, but it was worth it to pursue her dream job.

“I wanted more job satisfaction, I felt like I was only contributing to the corporate bottom line,” said Rihner, who works at Lanier Middle School. “My husband and I had a deep talk about our future and set our finances in order so I could do what I love.”

And she did it without having to go back to college to earn an education degree.

Gwinnett County Schools has two new certification programs for career-swappers looking for an alternative path to teaching. The district joins DeKalb County, Clayton County and Atlanta City Schools in offering versions of the Georgia Teacher Alternative Preparation Program, which leads to certification in two years. A second program approved by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission in mid-August allows Gwinnett to churn out new teachers even faster. Professionals with bachelor’s degrees who have passed state testing requirements can earn certification in one year if they complete on-the-job training teaching in a subject area related to their major. It is one of two such programs run by a metro Atlanta school district.

Gwinnett human resources officials said the career options will expand the pool of candidates for hard-to-staff jobs in the growing district, which is projecting an enrollment of 160,000 students this year and will open nine new schools in 2009.

“As we are growing we are trying to prepare for the possibility that the traditional routes are going to stay flat,” said Tom Hall, coordinator for Teach Gwinnett Alternative Preparation Programs. “We want to make sure we are adding to our supply source.”

According to a count last spring, 8,389 of 119,018 educators statewide came to teaching through alternative routes, said a researcher with the Professional Standards Commission. A little more than 20 percent of teachers hired by Georgia school districts annually are certified through alternative programs.

Stay-at-home mom Ursula Jones, a former college professor, was recruited by Teach Gwinnett after her children started school.

Now, Jones is known as “the new teacher” to physics students at North Gwinnett High School, which is a five-minute trip from her front door.

“I was able to take a job where I can still be a mother to my kids. My daughter’s school is 2 1/2 miles away. While she’s at school I will be at work, and when she gets home I’m able to get home. It’s convenient.”

Approximately 24 educators came to Gwinnett in the two-year certification program. About 125 people applied. Another 60 candidates are waiting to be part of the one-year supervised practicum.

Chris Turner, a loan officer turned teachers’ aide, joined Teach Gwinnett because he was looking for a career that was recession-proof. He is now a special education teacher working toward certification. “Banks buy other banks — you are always looking for another job every three or four years,” Turner said. “I wanted a steady, secure job.”

Cobb County Schools opens doors for professionals looking for a change of careers, too.

A former teacher of the year in Cobb’s schools once worked as a broker at the New York Stock Exchange. “They bring real-world experience,” said Tim Baker, Cobb’s director of employment. But they must start over on the pay scale. “Even if you were an engineer for 10 years, they are going to pay you as a first year teacher. A first year with no experience starts at about $40,000. It’s a tough job, but you can still support a family on that.”