Successful Career Transitions: Lessons from Urban Alternate Route Teachers Who Stayed

Mindful of the current difficulty and challenge in retaining new teachers, particularly in urban schools, this study examines data from a 1997 qualitative investigation of 6 Black sixth-year teachers in 2 Midwestern urban school districts regarding their views of their alternate route preparation program. The findings indicate that the program assisted them in successfully making a transition from other careers into teaching. Program structures and relationships that enabled the teachers to develop competence and identity included effective instruction in content and pedagogy and the development of close professional relationships with their mentors and with other members of their cohort. The findings imply the importance of addressing the developmental needs of individuals undertaking career transitions into teaching.