Getting into a classroom can be one of the most powerful ways to affect the lives of other individuals. Many students in our career community also aspire to affect systemic change. See below for avenues to explore both – and know that spending time in both spaces is a good idea! The more on-the-ground experience you bring to the policy realm, the more informed and meaningful your contributions will be. Similarly, the more policy knowledge you have, the better prepared you are to shape young minds.
Getting into the Classroom
Tutoring and volunteering is great place to start. There are a number of tutoring programs that you can explore through the Gephardt Institute. Mission St. Louis and College Bound also regularly seek tutors. Also, Reading Partners is a great organization that offers Americorps positions as does City Year. Other local education-oriented nonprofits include The Opportunity Trust and Institute for School Partnership. The Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Program is a way to get some classroom experience while also living abroad. Check in with the Fellowships Advising Office to learn more.
Your first step should be to get connected to the Department of Education at WashU . We recommend reaching out to Alyssa McDonald as a first point of contact.
To teach in public schools in the U.S., you need to be a certified teacher. Certification requirements vary state-to-state, but thankfully, reciprocity exists in many states. Make sure to look closely at requirements as intricacies exist. Many schools, including your very own WashU, offer routes to certification.
Ask yourself a few questions: what grade level would I want to teach and why? Is there a subject area that excites me? Who are my favorite educators and thought leaders within the profession? If you went to public schools, reflect on your experiences (or talk to a family member about it). If you did not attend a public school, ask a friend about their journey. Root your exploration in your values.
Paths to Certification
If you don’t get certified as a part of your undergraduate studies and want to teach within public schools, not to worry! Here are some options. There are pros and cons to each option and each program is different. Key: talk to us, we can help! This is meant to provide a basic overview.
- Master’s in Teacher Education – title of program can vary at any given university, e.g. WashU has options) coursework + student teaching experience, you might also want to look into post-bac teaching certification programs
- Teaching residencies (e.g. St. Louis has one, most cities do) – gradual elevation to becoming a teacher of record + coursework
- Teach for America – summer preparation and then full-time teaching while pursuing route to certification
- Private or charter school route – typically, immediately begin as teacher of record, and depending on the opportunity, sometimes has routes to certification, note that many private and charter schools never require their educators to be certified, this varies depending on the institution
Organizations to Explore
Wondering what you should do during the summers? There are a lot of opportunities to be involved in children’s education over the summer! Some things to explore/consider: Do you like working with kids or teens? Do you want to help build reading comprehension? Are there certain issues you want to be involved in, populations that bring you joy? Here are some organizations to get you thinking:
Here’s the good news if work in higher ed is of interest to you: you are SURROUNDED by people who do just that! So take advantage of all the professionals in the space with whom you interact regularly to learn more about their work. You probably understand what the role of a professor is, and you may even have a few who are encouraging you to follow in their footsteps. That route is pretty clear: get your PhD and hope there are some positions in your chosen field. But there are a lot of other careers in higher ed that are less obvious.
A good place to get exposed to them: consider an on-campus job! This will introduce you to the structure of departments and the nature of the work.
One distinction that may not be clear to you as a student is between academic affairs and student affairs. All of the work in/around the classroom falls under academic affairs. The work is rooted in an academic discipline or program. Student Affairs is the department that provides all the other programs and supports for you as a student – which includes athletics, campus life, career services, and student organizations. Thinking about which of those spheres is most intruiging is a good place to start.
Check out Higher Ed Jobs to explore the range of opportunities and job titles available at 2 year, 4 year, public and private institutions.
There are many roles within education that are outside K-12 teaching and becoming a professor. Check out this career chat to hear from ed policy alums in corporate and nonprofit spaces.
Other roles to consider:
- Instructional Coordinators – this role can exist in several spaces, but many times, they are tied to supporting curriculum development
- Training and Development Specialists – this role can be housed in many departments; one suggestion is to take a look at this role within an HR department
- High School College or Guidance Counselor – support a student in high school with deciding on their next steps
- School Psychologist – support the educational, behavioral, and developmental growth of students
Compiled by a student, this list of think tanks, foundations and advocacy organizations is a good start to your target list.
Education is a very local issue. So consider ways to get involved with local school boards or state Departments of Education. There are often ballot initiatives around educational funding issues; those campaigns may also be of interest.
This is list of “hot topics” in education. This was compiled pre-COVID, so there is much to add since, including “critical race theory”, “social emotional learning” and the long-term impact of COVID on learning outcomes, testing and mental health and well-being.