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Muscogee Searches for Male Elementary Teachers: County Wants Broader Range in Primary Grades

Posted on: Sunday, 7 May 2006, 06:06 CDT

By Harry Franklin, Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, Ga.

May 7--The Muscogee County School District is looking for a few good men to teach in the elementary school ranks.

Fewer than 7 percent of the classroom teachers in the district's elementary schools are male, while more than 93 percent are female.

Through mid-March, figures supplied by the district show there were 979 elementary classroom teachers, including 913 women and 66 men.

In an effort to change that, the 32,000-student school system will hold an information session at 7 p.m. Monday at the Columbus Public Library, detailing its need for more male teachers and how they can become certified. The effort is financed through a state grant.

"We want to have a broad range of teachers in front of our students," said Kathy Tessin, human resources director for the system that employs nearly 6,000. "One of the things we still struggle with is getting a lot of males, especially in the primary grades, the elementary grades."

An alternative certification program begins in July, Tessin said, though testing is required in June. The grant will help defray cost of testing.

Those leaving the military and the corporate world are potential candidates for the program, she said.

"It might be for people who have worked in the business environment for eight to 10 years and they say: 'You know, this doesn't light my fire.' "

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Copyright (c) 2006, Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, Ga.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: Columbus Ledger-Enquirer

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