Stanley S. Litow of IBM chats with students in China.

Boomers should be at the forefront of education innovations funded with federal stimulus dollars, says Stanley S. Litow, president of the IBM International Foundation and an innovative national leader in education reform and corporate philanthropy.

In “Innovation Is the Key to Smarter Schools – And the Budget Crises Might Spur It” in the July 7 edition of Education Week, Litow writes, “As the baby-boomer population approaches retirement, the potential exists to attract hundreds of thousands of talented professionals into teaching if the incentives are in place. And alternative pathways to teacher certification could provide easier access for those seeking second careers in education.”

IBM created one such pathway in 2005, when it launched Transition to Teaching to help experienced employees transition to second careers teaching math or science. The program has served as a model for other corporate and government teacher transition programs in California, New York and overseas.

Expansion of such programs, Litow writes, could result in “tens of thousands of highly qualified teachers.”

Litow applauds the government’s commitment to innovation, which he says is demonstrated in the Education Department’s “Race to the Top” fund and its “Invest in What Works and Innovation” program. But he notes that “our schools cannot bear the huge burden of education our children alone. K-12 school systems must connect pre-K and Head Start to colleges and universities, so that our students are well prepared to move seamlessly and successfully from one level to the next. Schools also must forge partnerships with nonprofit agencies providing child and family services, as well as after-school programs offering science and technology enhancement or arts and cultural opportunities. By doing so, they can share important data on students and their families and offer necessary support services.

”The private sector also must join these partnerships, providing resources, ideas and new approaches to old problems,” he writes.