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SEPTEMBER 2004

From Investment Banking to the Classroom:
Career Changers Jump into Teaching

by Josh Rogers

George Hoisl was an investment officer at Wachovia Bank when his boss asked for volunteers for a junior achievement program the company was sponsoring. Through the program, Hoisl spent some of his free time teaching public school children from second to eighth grade. It wasn't long before he knew-this long-time professional banker wanted to become a schoolteacher.

"I loved how exciting it was and all the beautiful things that can come out of teaching," said Hoisl. "I had a couple kids that wrote me letters at the end like: 'You know what, Mr. H., you were the best teacher we ever had,' and that warmed my heart. I keep all their pictures in my briefcase."

This May, Hoisl enrolled in Jumpstart, a teaching program at Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York. Jumpstart is a fast-track teaching program geared specifically toward career-changers. By placing people who are pursuing a master's degree in education in full-time teaching situations after only four months of preparatory classes, the program is designed to help fill the many vacant teaching posts in New York City during the next few years.

Jumpstart, and programs like it, may have the added bonus of helping change the demographics of the teaching community. Of three million public school teachers in the United States, only 21 percent are male, according to a 2002 survey released by the National Education Association. According to the NEA, "many men don't see the teaching profession as a lucrative way to provide for their families." Because men are so under-represented, NEA members recently approved an initiative to "identify, recognize, recruit and retain" more male teachers. In last year's Jumpstart class, 12 of 37 students were male, which was much higher than the national average. In this fall's cohort, 27 of 60 students are male.

Since Jumpstart is specifically geared toward "career-changers," there are more students in the program who have already completed a successful career track, and for a variety of reasons, decide to become teachers. This may account for the dramatic influx of men into the program. A Jumpstart cohort is typically made up of insurance adjusters, architects, commodities traders, and others who have realized they want to pursue a more fulfilling career. Besides his newfound passion for teaching, Hoisl was also ready to leave the banking profession. "It's a shrinking industry. It just gets smaller and it gets harder," he said.

Manhattanville is hoping to attract other under-represented groups to become educators. To that end, the school is now giving need-based grants of $5,00 to $15,000. The money comes from a $500,000 federal grant that U.S. Congresswoman Nita Lowey helped secure for the School of Education's Jumpstart program 16 months ago. After developing the program's faculty and outreach, the program still has almost half of the grant money left, which is earmarked for the student grants.#

Josh Rogers is a Staff Writer, Manhattanville College. For more information on the program, please contact program director James Finger at 914-323-5368.

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