Project PROMISE is designed for mid-career professionals who possess a bachelor’s degree or higher and are transitioning from a previous career to teaching, and recent college graduates who graduated with at least a bachelor’s degree within the past three years in a field other than education.

Prospective Teachers:
Prospective non-education trained individuals eligible to teach elementary education or secondary English/language arts, mathematics, science, and special education aspiring to teach in a high-need school in Broward County for a minimum of three years.

Current Teachers Teaching on a Temporary Certificate:
Current teachers in a high-need Broward County public school that are non-education trained, teaching on a temporary certificate in the critical subject areas of elementary education or secondary English/language arts, mathematics, science, special education, or social science.

• Participants are eligible to receive free tuition for graduate and undergraduate non-traditional college coursework leading to a five-year professional teaching certificate.
• Participants receive meaningful and practical professional development to effectively engage students and positively impact their learning gains.
• Principals give greater consideration to candidates who are prepared to teach in an urban setting and who have classroom experience and content knowledge proficiency.
• Participants are provided advising and ongoing support for the first three years of teaching.
• Participants can give back to their community and positively influence students to achieve to their highest potential.

• All applicants must be either a mid-career professional or recent college graduate without education training.
• Two types of applicants are eligible:
  • Prospective Teachers: Prospective non-education trained individuals eligible to teach elementary or secondary English/language arts, mathematics, science, and special education aspiring to teach in a high-need school in Broward County for a minimum of three years.
  • Current Teachers teaching on a Temporary Certificate: Current teachers in a high-need Broward County public school that are non-education trained, teaching on a temporary certificate in the field of elementary and secondary English/language arts, mathematics, science, special education, and social science.
• Applicants aspiring to teach in a high-need Broward County public school for a minimum of three years.
• Applicants must be United States citizens or possess a valid Resident Alien Card or a valid Work Visa.
• Applicants who hold a bachelor-level or higher degree from an accredited college or university and eligible for temporary certification in mathematics, science, social science, special education or English/language arts.

Proof of eligibility for a temporary certificate may be acquired by one of the following:

• A statement of eligibility from the Florida Department of Education indicating that the applicant meets the requirements for a temporary certificate in mathematics, science, or language arts/ English, ESE. For more information on how to obtain a Statement of Eligibility, please visit http://www.fldoe.org/edcert/; —OR—
• Hold a degree in an acceptable major in one of the following subjects: mathematics, science, social science or language arts/English; —OR—
• Have passing test scores for the Florida Teacher Certification Exam: Subject Area Exam in mathematics, science, social science, language arts/ English, ESE or elementary education.

Foreign degrees must be evaluated before applying to Project PROMISE. Certain agencies are recognized by the Florida Department of Education to provide a course-by-course foreign degree evaluation.

Participants in Project PROMISE have the following responsibilities:

• Attend all scheduled college credit courses and professional development as instructed.
• Sign a Promissory Note to earn a letter grade of at least a "B" to receive free tuition for graduate college courses leading to a professional teaching certificate. If a participant does not receive at least a "B", the participant is responsible to pay for the college course and may be terminated from program services.
• Teach in a high-need Broward County public school for at least three years to receive free tuition.
• If a participant chooses the Reading Course option through Nova Southeastern University, the participant is responsible to pay for the course and, if he or she earns at least a "B", the participant will be reimbursed for the cost of college tuition for that specific course.