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A new organization makes it easier for Californians to find programs that prepare them for encore careers as teachers. The California Teachers Corps is a membership organization that represents the state’s more than 70 alternative certification programs.

The California Teachers Corps aims to increase the pool of talented, committed and diverse teachers in California’s public schools. Its goal is to place 100,000 highly-qualified teachers in California communities by 2020 and to serve as a unified voice for alternative certification programs.

The organization lists both district- and university-based programs that provide alternative routes to teacher certification in all 58 counties in California on its Web site. In 2007-2008, half of all math teachers credentialed came from these programs. A location map on the site makes it easy to connect with a program coordinator in the area where a prospective teacher would like to become certified.

“At the heart of the California Teacher Corps is the belief that every student in California deserves an outstanding teacher who is well prepared and who wants to serve their community in the classroom,” said Catherine Kearney, president of the California Teacher Corps.

“For nearly two decades, alternative certification programs have been placing talented, passionate and committed teachers in the schools that need them the most. The California Teacher Corps will accelerate this success, work to ensure that all schools have the best and brightest teachers in their classrooms and expand the pipeline into teacher preparation programs.”