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The South Carolina Center for Teacher Recruitment



[Teacher Cadet]
Mission: The primary goal of the Teacher Cadet Program is to encourage academically able students who possess exemplary interpersonal and leadership skills to consider teaching as a career. An important secondary goal of the Program is to provide these talented future community leaders with insights about teachers and schools so that they will be civic advocates of education.


"We cannot adequately prepare the coming generation if the least able students enter the profession. Teaching must become a top priority and gifted students must be recruited."

--Dr. Ernest Boyer


Overview

The Teacher Cadet Program is an innovative approach designed to attract talented young people to the teaching profession through a challenging introduction to teaching. The Program seeks to

[Teacher Cadet]
  • provide high school students insight into the nature of teaching,
  • the problems of schooling and
  • the critical issues affecting the quality of education in America's schools.

Piloted in four high schools in South Carolina in 1985-86, the Teacher Cadet Program has grown to include 149 high schools serving over 2,500 academically able high school junior and seniors annually (see the Teacher Cadet Directory). The class is taught one period per day for a year or the equivalent of that amount of time. Students earn a social studies elective unit for satisfactory completion of the course.

Eligibility Requirements

  • A 3.0 average in college preparatory courses
  • Five written teacher recommendations
  • An essay on why the student wants to participate in the class
  • Interviews (optional)

Curriculum
  • Written and revised by Teacher Cadet teachers
  • Titled Experiencing Education
  • Contains many hands-on activities
  • Strong emphasis on field experiences
  • Includes three sections:
    • The Learner
    • The School
    • The Teacher and Teaching

College Partnerships

Twenty-two of South Carolina's 30 colleges and universities with teacher education programs provide support to the Teacher Cadet sites. Over two-thirds of the college partners grant college credit for satisfactory completion of the course.

Plans to Teach

  • An average of 35% of the participants indicate plans to pursue teaching credentials
  • Over 2,000 former Teacher Cadets are currently teaching in SC

Program Evaluation

  • Evaluated annually

Other States/Districts Replicating the SC Teacher Cadet Program

  • Alabama
  • Arizona
  • Arkansas
  • California
  • Georgia
  • Louisiana
  • New York
  • Maryland
  • Massachusetts
  • Michigan
  • Nevada
  • North Carolina
  • Oklahoma
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Vermont
  • Virginia
  • Washington

Curriculum Training Available

Curriculum training and materials are available from the South Carolina Center for Teacher Recruitment (grahama@winthrop.edu for more information).

 

Teacher Cadet Materials

 

For more information, contact SC Center for Teacher Recruitment, Ward House, Winthrop University Station, Rock Hill, SC 29733, 803-323-4032 or 1-800-476-2387.

Government Approved Recruitment center for Military Career Transforming, outplacement and career advancement programs

Teaching is Reaching the Next Generation

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SCCTR | pre-collegiate teacher recruitment programs
professional development | S.C. teaching now and tomorrow
teacher leadership | publications