Teacher Appreciation Week is a beloved week for us at Rutgers Alternate Route, as we love celebrating our candidates past and present, as well as our trusted partners. 

In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week (May 2-6, 2022) many businesses are celebrating educators by offering exclusive discounts. Teachers can redeem coupons for school supplies, deals on insurance and auto repair, discounts on clothing and much more. 

One perk of going into an education career are some of the programs and incentives available to teachers. Often, companies will create discounts for teachers or there will be opportunities specifically available to give teachers a leg up.

An example is the Teacher Next Door National Home Buying Program. The home buyers that go through the program enjoy a more streamlined experience and save money on expenses that can add up.

In addition to the women whose influence in education are cemented in history, we are also lucky to have our own lineup of historymakers currently affecting change in New Jersey. Yes, they are our Alternate Route instructors! In addition to some of the well-known names featured from the past, we’ve featured the incredible women that are currently helping our candidates make their teaching dream a reality and improving education all across New Jersey.

Conferences have long been places for like-minded professionals to meet, exchange ideas and grow networks. As we have adapted to living with the COVID virus, we’ve seen doors opened for educators to attend conferences that are out of state, and even out of the country. Information and sharing is more available than ever, and as in-person events start to trickle back into our lives, we’ve seen the benefit hybrid options bring.

Local educators now have the option to attend a New Jersey-based event or meet people from all over the globe through the technology’s power to connect. As a result of this digitally expanded world, the below professional-development opportunities are a mix of local, national and international offerings. 

Paul Nolan left his job as a teacher to enter into the business world. Years later, he left the business world to return to his roots. He had been yearning to go back and found an opportunity through a full-time substitute teaching position… and Rutgers Alternate Route.

February 14-21 is #LoveTeachingWeek, which is one of our favorite weeks at Alternate Route! In honor of our instructors' hard work and passion for education, we asked them what they love about working with new teachers. The responses we received are inspiring, heartfelt and full of passion.

Teachers who took part in our December 2021 Twitter Chat addressing safe learning environments reported increased capacity for reducing incidents of harassment, intimidation and bullying in schools. Because school safety is vital for student academic performance and their social-emotional well-being, it is important that new teachers gain awareness and confidence in this area early in their careers.

As one of the many alternate route teaching programs in New Jersey, the Rutgers Alternate Route program recognizes the potential for technology in education and leverages the power of social media to support increasing competency in this area for new teachers. The program hosts Twitter Chats attended by current teaching candidates, course instructors, and guest commentators who are seasoned education professionals and savvy users of social media. In an hour-long synchronized group discussion, candidates volley ideas that expand their knowledge of tools and practices. The overwhelming majority of candidates leave the chat energized and inspired to try new practices and explore new tools. They also express feeling understood and less alone thanks to the transparency of other chat participants.

It's no secret that teachers are among the best resources when it comes to finding great educational websites and apps for teaching and learning. It's also no secret that teachers are among some of the busiest professionals and appreciate saving time whenever possible. 

That's why teachers at Rutgers Alternate Route have done the leg work of plowing through hundreds of websites to share with other teachers their go-to resources for supporting learning in their content areas. They have curated a list of mostly free teacher resources that we've categorized by subject area to make it easy to quickly identify something useful. What's more, each resource includes a hyperlink to the site and a brief rationale for why it made the teacher's toolbox.