In a move that will infuse fresh energy into Chicago public schools and help alleviate the growing teacher shortage, 42 aspiring teachers from around the world will learn their craft at DePaul University's Center for Urban Education. This innovative partnership between DePaul and the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), known as International Connections, is the first of its type to be tried in Chicago.

       The revolutionary program will strengthen Chicago schools by placing individuals with substantial experience to teach math, science and foreign languages in public schools. Support for the program will come from DePaul and the Chicago Board of Education.

       "Because of our work training educators for urban teaching assignments, it was a natural for DePaul to undertake this extraordinary task," said Barbara Radner, director of the Center for Urban Education. "It is especially critical for DePaul to be involved because providing these teachers with the support they need to begin teaching in our public schools helps to solve one of Chicago's biggest problems, a shortage of teachers in these core areas."

       The teachers arrived in Chicago June 19th from locations that span the globe including Asia, Africa, Europe, South America and the Middle East. The teachers were selected by the Board of Education and come from a variety of professions. All are fluent in English.

       The center will begin the process of preparing the group for teaching assignments with a six-week summer program that introduces them to the city, their role as Chicago teachers and the use of computers in instruction.

       When the school year begins, the teachers will move into public school classrooms and work in partnership with board certified teachers. To help increase their teaching effectiveness, the teachers will attend a series of Saturday course sessions. The classes will incorporate essential elements of the required courses for teacher certification and will be specially geared to the needs of international teachers working in urban schools.

       At the program's end the teachers will be given the opportunity to continue their education and complete the master's requirements in DePaul's Teaching and Learning program.

       DePaul staff members will participate fully in the training by coordinating sessions and providing ongoing assessment. There also will be two teacher "coaches" who will work in the field visiting participating schools to lend support to the new teachers.

       Additional support will come from graduates of the Urban Teacher Corps, a Center for Urban Education program that includes individuals who have served in the Peace Corps. The graduates will mentor the teachers and help them adjust to life in the United States.

       The Board of Education currently employs about 28,000 classroom teachers, but each year it must fill hundreds of empty slots as teachers retire or leave. As it becomes increasingly difficult to find qualified replacements, options like International Connections become more attractive.

       "The teacher shortage has many answers, and this Board of Education response is especially creative because these individuals bring a diversity of cultures as well as subject competence from outside the United States," said Radner. "These teachers come from varied backgrounds, there is even a surgeon in the group. Our challenge is to train them to be effective teachers in Chicago."