They jumped from business to teaching

Anna Maria Machosky, West Gate ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) teacher, and Krystle Churchill, an ESOL teacher at Lake Ridge Middle School, traveled different paths to the classroom. However, they agree that they are now exactly where they are supposed to be, thanks to Educate VA, a career switcher program of Virginia’s community colleges.

Machosky, born and raised in Long Island and holder of a MBA from City University of New York’s Baruch College, spent 15 years as an executive in the advertising industry, first in New York City and later, after her marriage to a Fairfax County police officer, in Washington, D.C.  He liked the quality of life down here,” she said, “and I relocated when we got married.” They live in Haymarket.

Following the birth of her fourth child in 2008, Machosky found herself out of a job when the downturn in the economy resulted in layoffs at her ad agency. “I took a break and did some consulting,” Machosky said, adding that she also took the opportunity to assess her life. “As a working mom in advertising, I hadn’t had a chance to be involved in [my children’s] day-to-day lives as much as I wanted,” she said. “The layoff was a blessing in disguise.” Machosky found that time spent volunteering with scouts, church and in her children’s’ schools to be rewarding.

“I had joy in the classrooms, and it made me rethink my career and what I wanted for my life. I found great satisfaction in advertising, but it didn’t make a difference in people’s lives. I need to feel like I’m giving something back.” She decided to become a teacher.

An online search of teacher preparation programs revealed several that took more time than Machosky had to invest. “I needed to do something quickly,” she said. “With four children, I couldn’t spend a lot of time in school.”

The Educate VA program is “highly accelerated,” Machosky said. Candidates complete a 16-week Level I program which includes 30 hours of classroom experience. Then, they receive a one-year provisional license. During their first year of teaching, they complete Level II of the program, which includes Saturday sessions and online classes. At the completion of the program, they are granted a regular five-year license. “The program is intense,” Machosky said. “It’s shorter but more intense.”

Admission to Teach VA is rigorous. Applicants must hold a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution with a GPA of 2.5 or better, content area expertise and passing grades on the Praxis II, a standardized test that measures content knowledge, and the VCLA (Virginia Communications and Literacy Assessment), a test that measures the skills necessary to teach and communicate effectively with parents. Willingness to undergo a criminal investigation is also required. Tuition, fees and books for the program cost approximately $3,700 for all areas except ESOL which is about $1300.

The career switcher program is available only in areas considered to be high need, including ESOL, world languages, math and science and language arts at the middle and high school level, Machosky said.

According to Darlene Faltz, supervisor of recruitment and specialty programs for Prince William County Public Schools, the need for ESOL teachers continues to rise, with about 110 hired in the past three years. “ESOL was good for me because it was K-12, and I wanted to teach little children,” said Machosky who is bi-lingual in English and Spanish. “As the child of immigrants, I could also relate to their experience.”

During Level I, Machosky was placed at Ellis Elementary School in Manassas for her student teaching, and, later, was thrilled to be hired to work at West Gate. “This school is 90 percent ESOL and 90 percent students who qualify for free and reduced lunch,” she said. “It’s an incredible school with an incredible staff. All the reasons I wanted to be a teacher I find here,” she said. As one of two ESOL teachers in the second grade, Machosky works with 80 students in four classes.

Lake Ridge Middle’s Krystle Churchill, a theater major at Virgin-ia Commonwealth University, Richmond, found herself working in banking, after graduation. While pursuing her interest in theater, “banking paid the bills,” she said.

“I always worked with children,” she said. “During community college, I got a work study job as a teacher’s aide,” she said, noting that she comes from a family of teachers. “My sister is a principal, and I grew up helping grade papers and setting up classrooms. I did some substitute teaching between jobs. I always had one leg in the door, but I never jumped in. My sister told me to ‘do it,’ but I didn’t know how.”

Churchill met her husband Craig, an Englishman, while studying abroad in Italy.  “I’ve always been interested in other cultures and Craig told me that when he was trying to learn English as a child, no one helped him. Those things opened my eyes to ESOL,” she said.

“I went to job fairs, but those were for people who had licenses. I learned about career switchers there. Early on, I didn’t think I could fit it in. I needed to work,” she said, but she could and she did. “It’s the best thing I could have ever done,” she said. “I’m so glad I did everything I did the way I did.” Churchill now plans to pursue a second certification in theater and a master’s degree. Churchill, her husband and 2-year-old live in Richmond. “I leave home at 5:30 a.m. every day,” Churchill said, but I love teaching here. I hope to move here eventually, but the commute is okay.”

More information on the Educate VA Career Switchers program is available at its website at http://vccs.edu/Students/CareerSwitchersEducateVA