Today, the nation is facing an unprecedented teacher shortage, which will u
ndoubtedly result in increased attention to alternative certification progr
ams as a possible means of addressing the school staffing crisis. For the p
ast decade, much has centered on the tensions between school, college, and
department of education (SCDE) programs and alternative programs, and the r
elative merits and drawbacks of two delivery systems-one in which candidate
s complete initial certification prior to employment and one that provides
training to candidates while they are employed as full-time teachers. The a
uthors advocate a third alternative for midcareer teacher candidates, one t
hat encompasses the strengths and minimizes the weaknesses of the two predo
minant delivery systems currently available. This alternative is the compre
hensive, accelerated, customer-oriented teacher preparation program, couple
d with an intensive induction support system. The authors describe one such
program and discuss the compelling reasons for SCDEs nationwide to conside
r moving in this direction.