One month ago, Ethan Taylor was working for the U.S. Department of the Interior’s International Technical Assistance Program. Now, he’s substitute-teaching, and enrolled in a teacher preparation program dubbed “Feds to Eds.”
Taylor was among the thousands of federal workers who took what President Donald Trump’s administration described as “the fork in the road,” leaving a career that he’d treasured after 24 years.
“Unfortunately, the handwriting was on the wall for me,” he said. “I just want to do something that I’m passionate about, that I’ve done in the past, that I feel I could be good at.”
Taylor had experience teaching in graduate school, and had worked as an adjunct professor at American University. His plan was to become a high school Spanish teacher.
Abigail Norris, a former budget team lead at the General Services Administration, was also a career government worker. Like Taylor, she’d been keeping an eye on the slashing of federal jobs, and opted for the fork in the road plan.
Norris did so with a path in mind.
“French has always been my big passion, I’ve loved it my whole life,” she said.
She’d thought seriously about teaching — and even obtained a master’s degree in French.
“I thought, ‘OK, maybe it’s time to finally take that plunge,'” Norris said. “I will be teaching French, and I’m super excited about that.”
Jake Baroch, 25, was at the very beginning of his planned career in government service when he got the notice on Feb. 14 that he would no longer have a job at the National Institutes of Health. He was a scientific program analyst at NIH. Now, along with Norris and Taylor, he’s in the Alternative Certification for Effective Teachers, or ACET, program at Montgomery College.
ACET, as the name suggests, creates a path for career-changers to obtain their teaching license in Maryland.
On Tuesday, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore announced new funding for ACET programs across the state. Montgomery College will get a grant of $100,000 for the program.
“Maryland will provide $1 million in grants to 11 Maryland colleges and universities to help laid off workers to pivot to careers in education in the state of Maryland,” Moore said to enthusiastic applause.
Under the accelerated ACET program, participants could be in classrooms by the fall.
“I’m a little bit nervous, but think that’s normal,” Norris said. “But I’m more excited than anything else.”
Norris, who enjoyed government service, sees her new venture as a way to give back to the local community “and hopefully getting some kids excited about French while I’m at it.”
Baroch plans on teaching science at the high school level.
“I looked around for a while at jobs in labs and other jobs in the private sector, but I really just think that teaching is the most rewarding thing I can do,” he said.
Baroch said he’s getting some good advice on what it will take to teach.
“My mom was a teacher, my grandma was a teacher, my sister is still a teacher; and I just know they all love their life and they love interacting with students every day,” he said.
While all three teacher candidates are excited about their new paths, Taylor said he hopes the public can be understanding about how many former federal workers impacted by the massive layoffs under the Trump administration are still working to adjust.
“And if they see opportunities out there for their colleagues and friends and neighbors to point them out, because it’s a tough job market out there,” he said.
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