Faced with predictions that the nation's public schools will need to hire at least two million teachers in the next decade, a new handbook describes proven approaches to widening the pool of teaching candidates. Ahead of the Class: A Handbook for Preparing Teachers from New Sources, published by The Urban Institute, offers lessons learned from the Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund's Pathways to Teaching Careers initiative.

Ahead of the Class offers ways to duplicate the success of Pathways that has been operating in 42 sites around the country. Specifically, this handbook contains a step-by-step approach to: creating successful institutional partnerships; recruiting and selecting program participants, building an innovative curriculum to prepare new teachers; providing support services; and budgeting for success.