That rivals the size of the entire teacher workforce today, which numbers 284,000. California currently issues only 20,000 new credentials each year but will need to hire 36,000 teachers per year to meet the demand. The pace is grueling, as is the workload. It was a killer, and it can be hard to assimilate it all. But education is the core of our future.
Teachers have an amazing amount of responsibility.
UCSC has also contributed significantly to a rethinking of teacher education and professional development. It's a recognition that good teaching grows over a lifetime. At UCSC, teacher preparation can begin at the undergraduate level with a minor in education. The model has been so successful that it is being expanded beyond the Monterey Bay Area into Silicon Valley, and it is being replicated in school districts across the state. Currently in the proposal stage, the Ph.D. program is targeted to begin in fall 2003.