ABSTRACT
This chapter reports on a teacher preparation program in a northern New England city that is targeting recent immigrants and refugees to become certified teachers. The ability to work in an increasingly diverse, heterogeneous, and complex society was determined to be a compelling state interest by the US Supreme Court in 2003 with Grutter v. Bollinger, in which the courts allowed law schools to consider race as one factor in admissions. ETEP is historically a 9-month teacher certification program. The ETEP program was modified for culturally and linguistically diverse teachers by extending the time needed to complete it. A cohort structure and mentoring are strategies that have been reported to be particularly important for minority teacher candidates to 'persist, minimize burnout, overcome feelings of isolation, and minimize feelings of being overwhelmed'. The exceptional retention rate of those who became teachers is characteristic of grow-your-own programs in which strong teaching candidates from the local community are identified and supported.
