A Late Pass for the Teacher

Hundreds of Virginians have switched careers at midlife to take their place at the head of the class.

From a corner office in Tysons Corner, Steve Ingrassia managed 600 employees last year and secured classified contracts for the federal government. Now he reports to work at Fairfax High School, where he shares a workroom with 20 other teachers and is responsible for the math and computer science education for five classes of teenagers.

After a 30-year career in information technology, Ingrassia left his vice president title and six-figure income for a chance to work his way up the from the bottom of the salary scale in teaching.

"I thought I could make a more personal difference with kids if I became a teacher," said the 52-year-old Herndon resident, who is fond of wearing to school a sports shirt embossed with the symbol for pi.

"I think kids need some role models," he said. "They need to know someone who can answer authoritatively when they ask, 'When will I ever need to use algebra?' "

When his third and youngest daughter began preparing for college graduation and her first career, Ingrassia started making plans for his second career. He dusted off his college transcript, took a national math test and enrolled in a career-changer program at George Mason University in fall 2007.

Most teachers enter the classroom with an undergraduate degree in education. But an increasing number of teachers come to the profession after testing the waters or investing their talents in other fields first.

Since 2001, more than 2,000 people have enrolled in one of nine state-approved programs that offer accelerated training and development to help working professionals make the transition into the classroom.

Each program is structured differently, but at minimum, applicants need a bachelor's degree, five years of work experience, coursework in their subject area and passing scores on two standardized exams.

Ingrassia studied pedagogy and adolescent development in evening courses and observed more than 60 hours of high school math instruction.

By the spring, he was attending job fairs and interviewing with principals. His résumé showed a strong understanding of math, with a college degree in mathematics and a master's in computer science. It also showed some impressive applications of math, including a stint engineering onboard software for the space shuttle program in the 1980s.

Some principals are hesitant to take a chance on someone with no classroom experience, but Scott Brabrand, principal at Fairfax High, said Ingrassia brings relevance and real-world experience to the classroom, two things that teenagers respond to.

In other Fairfax high schools, a former Air Force pilot teaches physics, and a former judge teaches social studies. An engineer is observing math classes at Fairfax High this year and applying for jobs in the county to teach math next year.