Institutions of higher education that have developed alternative teacher preparation programs leading to a teaching license:

Northern Plains Transition to Teaching Program

247 Reid Hall

P.O. Box 172940

Montana State University

Bozeman , Montana 59717 -2940

(406)94-5662

Nptt@montana.edu

The Northern Plains Transition to Teaching (NPTT) program at Montana State University-Bozeman (MSU) has developed and implemented a sustainable program to provide highly qualified and competent educators to meet the hiring needs of secondary rural schools in Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota (with hopes to expand to serve the other rural states in our region). To this end, the NPTT has established five overarching goals:

1) to recruit, through the Montana & High Plains Troops to Teachers regional office, rural and reservation communities, and regional professional organizations, highly qualified professional adults holding baccalaureate degrees appropriate to the content area they wish to teach;

2) to develop a compressed-format, alternate route to licensure training program for these professionals to include six concentrated and rigorous course offerings, delivered at a distance (with web based technology), and to enable candidates to enter the field in a supervised year-long paid internship after the initial qualification phase ( i.e ., after the first nine credits);

3) to place new teachers primarily in high need Local Education Associations (LEAs, or school districts) and other rural schools in NPTT states, through the development of an annual hiring pool to be brokered by the NPTT (which includes the following partner organizations: the Montana Board of Public Education via the Montana Office of Public Instruction, the Wyoming Professional Teaching Standards Board, the South Dakota Department of Education, and Troops-to-Teachers);

4) to support and retain these new teachers, by providing classroom mentoring by master teachers; an on-line help center for problem solving; a corps of visiting university faculty, matched by discipline whenever possible; and regular cohort meetings for faculty, mentors, and new teachers at state meetings; and

5) To develop the distance-delivery infrastructure and partnerships needed to continue to recruit and support transitioning mid-career professionals interested in pursuing a new career in teaching beyond grant funding and, in the process, serve as a national model for other institutions interested in developing alternate route licensure programs.

The NPTT builds on a long-standing commitment at MSU to meet the educational and professional development needs of the state and region's rural residents and, in particular, those of high need LEAs and other rural schools and teachers. Because of this commitment, MSU has become nationally recognized for its distance delivery of advanced degree granting programs for in-service teachers ( e.g ., the Master of Science in Science Education, or MSSE, in standards-based science education), distance mentoring for rural teachers ( e.g ., through the Systemic Teacher Excellence Preparation, or STEP, and other programs), and other standards-based on-line learning opportunities (e.g., the National Teachers Enhancement Network or NTEN). Building on this foundation, the NPTT is designed to move new teachers into classrooms as quickly as possible, without sacrificing teacher quality or preparation. During the five years of U.S. Department of Education support, all coursework may be supported by scholarships to the students agreeing to fulfill a three-year teaching commitment in a “High Need” school district as defined by the U.S. Department of Education. In lieu of student teaching, candidates will be supported through full employment in a salaried internship under alternative or temporary licensure. After completing the first year of teaching and all licensure/certification requirements, qualified NPTT teachers will have the option to take, at their own expense, an additional six credits to complete the requirements for a master's degree in education.