Julie Greene , Wakeland High School

After several years as a stay-at-home mom, Julie Greene wanted to get back to paying work. But she didn’t want to go back to marketing.

Greene, who had come from a family of teachers, felt discouraged by the lagging performance of American students in science and math. So she took her respect for the teaching profession and joy of learning and set out to become a teacher at age 48.

“I did not want a job for which I had to sacrifice time with my daughter,” she says. “The corporate world was no longer the right place for me.”

Building on mathematics classes she had taken over the years, Greene enrolled in a fast-track certification program at Collin College, outside Dallas. She took classes three days a week for a semester and spent the second semester student teaching at Wakeland High School in Frisco, Texas.

“The student-teaching experience was invaluable,” she says. “It was on-the-job training and a great networking opportunity.”

Greene earned her certificate in May 2008 and by August joined Wakeland’s staff to teach geometry. “Teenagers are frustrating, fun and inspiring all in one,” she observes. “Never a dull moment.”

Greene says she enjoys the work and appreciates having a paycheck again, even if it’s less than what she used to earn. And her schedule matches her daughter’s – a huge plus.

“I have wonderful colleagues. I am energized by the students,” she says. “I believe the students benefit from my knowledge of math and my experience.”

Learn more about fast-track teaching certification programs