DEARING - Sharon Turman had a new baby when she quit her job as an accountant, entered Georgia's new Teacher Alternative Preparation Program and began teaching math at Thomson Middle School.

Today, her daughter Destiny is 2 years old and Mrs. Turman has completed all the requirements of the program, which will allow her to receive a renewable Georgia teaching certificate.

On Monday night, she was one of 34 from the initial class of 46 to receive a certificate of completion of the program at a commencement ceremony at the CSRA Regional Development Agency office in Dearing.

"As an accountant, it was repetition, repetition," Mrs. Turman said. "In teaching, though, the objectives stay the same, there are always new challenges - new students, different attitudes. You have to learn to adjust to meet each child's needs."

As of July 1, the 34 candidates graduating from the program will be fully certified to teach, though those in early childhood and special education won't complete certification requirements for another year, said Wanda Oldfield, who is in charge of the program for the CSRA Regional Educational Service Agency, which administers the program in partnership with Augusta State University.

Last year, the program attracted 93 candidates, and 30 to 40 are expected for the next session, which begins in July.

"This is a program where you want the numbers to go down," Ms. Oldfield said. "That means the positions have been filled and the needs have been met."

Fran Watkins, the director of educator preparation for the Georgia Professional Standards Commission, the agency that licenses teachers, said the program has had "a significant impact," filling about 1,500 classroom vacancies since it began. It also has provided teachers in such hard-to- fill areas as math and science, said Dr. Watkins, who traveled to Dearing for Monday's ceremony.

Program graduate Lisa Bowles, 37, a teacher at Burke County Middle School, was nominated for her county's teacher of the year this year. Her principal, Linda Murray, attended the graduation ceremony.

"She has moved into this program knowing she was called to teach," Ms. Murray said of Ms. Bowles, who was working in the office of the telemedicine program at the Medical College of Georgia before joining the program.

The school now has five Teacher Alternative Preparation Program candidates teaching.

"These folks have already been in the corporate world," Ms. Murray said. "They have had a second chance to get into teaching, and they know it's something they really want to do. There's an extra level of commitment."

The next Teacher Alternative Preparation Program class will be July 14-25, with follow-up Saturday sessions throughout the fall. To enter the program, candidates must first be employed by a school system.

Reach Melissa Hall at (706) 868-1222, ext. 113, or melhall@augustachronicle.com.