TROY, Mich. and DENTON, Texas (October 9, 2018) – Kelly Educational Staffing® (KES®), the nation’s leading provider of educational staffing, today announced a strategic partnership with iteach®, a premier teacher certification program. This exclusive partnership is the first of its kind to establish a consistent, long-term solution to the nationwide teacher shortage by placing qualified individuals in the teaching profession through a unique alternative approach.
Founded in 2003, iteach offers a unique online coursework format and accreditation for individuals who have a four-year degree. While completing the iteach certification program, individuals will participate in a one-year, two-semester paid residency during which time they are employed full-time as a teacher in their chosen field of study.
Kelly Educational Staffing, established in 1997, is the nation’s leader in providing quality substitute teaching staffing and management, to thousands of schools across the country. The iteach coursework allows four-year degreed professionals to explore fields of academic teaching—including specialty areas such as special education, ELL and STEM subject areas —to work at their own pace and begin teaching in the classroom three to six months from the start of the program.
With this partnership, KES will be able to offer iteach’s certification process to qualified candidates from their education talent pool as well as to the broader pool of Kelly Services. Additionally, KES substitute teachers can credit their substitute teaching experience towards iteach’s residency program. Vice versa, iteach will now be able to connect their newly certified educators with long-term teaching opportunities through KES. Additionally, as all iteach applicants must complete field experience during the certification process, KES can also provide iteach applicants with substitute teaching opportunities.
“We’re combining our commitment and passion for education to give schools access to a wider talent pool, talent that possesses a variety of professional backgrounds that will enrich today’s classrooms,” said Nicola Soares, vice president and managing director of the education practice for Kelly Services. “Imagine the positive impact a former engineer could make teaching a STEM-related subject to middle school students. These talented professionals will infuse education with different perspectives, experiences, expertise and ideas—and in turn, we’re confident that teaching will bring them a meaningful and honorable career.”
“Our partnership with Kelly Educational Staffing will tackle the teacher shortage crisis head-on with our highly skilled, certified and dedicated professionals now able to enter the teaching field faster and easier than ever before,” said Diann Huber, iteach president and founder. “With a retention rate that far surpasses national averages, we’re confident that this partnership will magnify our program’s positive impact.”
Together, KES and iteach are delivering an end-to-end solution that will enable and encourage a larger talent pool to embark upon the noble teaching profession. To learn more, visit www.kellyeducationalstaffing.com and www.iteach.net.
About Kelly Educational Staffing
Kelly Educational Staffing® (KES®), a specialty service of Kelly Services® (Nasdaq: KELYA, KELYB), is the first staffing provider to develop a comprehensive education talent management solution. Launched in 1997, KES partners with more than 7,055 public, private and charter schools across 35 states. In addition, KES provides schools with quality substitute teacher staffing and management, in addition to after school program staffing, and the staffing of non-instructional positions such as custodians, cafeteria employees, administrative assistants, and school nurses. More than 3 million classrooms are filled by a KES substitute teacher each school year. Visit www.kellyeducationalstaffing.com for more information.
About iteach
Founded in 2003, iteach helps talented people become teachers. Through rigorous, research- based training, iteach combines the convenience of online learning with the support of face-to-face mentorship while removing the barriers of high costs and time commitments of traditional teacher preparation programs. Having initially certified over 13,000 K-12 educators, iteach is working to solve the teacher shortage and enhance student achievement throughout the United States. Visit www.iteach.net for more information.
