2024-2025 Retaining Teachers & Strengthening Michigan’s Education Sector.

The Professional Innovators in Education Program, formerly Professional Innovators in Teaching, was created as an alternative route to teacher certification by MAPSA and approved by the Michigan Department of Education. The Professional Innovators Program is helping solve one of the most pressing challenges in the education sector: retaining and certifying high-quality educators.

The Professional Innovators Program offers a flexible, completely virtual pathway to full teacher certification, designed for working professionals, paraprofessionals, and career changers. Unlike traditional university-based programs, candidates don’t need to quit their jobs or start over on a degree. Instead, they earn their certification while they teach, in a supportive, real-world setting.

Why It Matters

In 2024-2025, more than 160 charter, private, and traditional schools across Michigan have partnered with The Professional Innovators Program to:

• Retain promising talent who may otherwise leave the profession.
• Build internal leadership capacity and reduce staffing gaps.
• Expand access to special education endorsements in high-need areas.

The program is making a measurable difference, not just for educators, but for schools, students, and communities.

Access and Equity

The Professional Innovators Program is designed to remove barriers and support a more diverse, representative teacher workforce.

• 84% of candidates receive financial support.
• 44% of candidates identify as racially or ethnically diverse, helping schools reflect the students they serve.
• 25% of candidates are male, increasing gender diversity in classrooms.
• The program serves a wide range of professionals, from para-pros to second-career educators, many of whom would not otherwise pursue teacher certification.

Quality and Coaching

While The Professional Innovators Program is flexible, it maintains a strong focus on quality and personal support.

• 20 experienced educational coaches provide 1:1 mentorship throughout the 3–4 year certification process.
• Program candidates demonstrate a 98% retention rate over 3 years in teaching, compared to the national average of 84%.

This coaching model ensures that candidates are not just certified, they are prepared and confident.

Real-World Readiness

Professional Innovators bridges the gap between theory and practice. 

• Upon passing the MTTC 100% of candidates receive their interim teaching certificate and can immediately begin leading a classroom.
• Through the program 228 candidates are currently teaching with interim certificates throughout Michigan!

Schools benefit from this model by gaining certified, supported teachers without long delays or hiring uncertainties.

Community and Belonging

Professional Innovators in Education isn’t just a certification program, it’s a professional network that connects educators across the state.

• An average of 417 members actively engage each month inside our private learning and networking space.
• School leaders also benefit from this community, gaining access to a growing pipeline of informed, empowered educators.

Innovation and Flexibility

The Professional Innovators in Education Program is Michigan’s premier flexible alternative route to certification. The fully virtual program is designed for professionals who want to be ready to lead in the classroom and transform education.

• Professional Innovators offers 59 areas of endorsement, such as math, science, special education, and elementary education, and many more!
• 68 candidates are enrolled in our special education track, pursuing endorsements in Emotional Impairment (EI) or Cognitive Impairment (CI). 

How You Can Get Involved

If you’re a school leader, board member, management company, authorizer, or policymaker, you have a role to play in strengthening Michigan’s teacher workforce.

Here’s how you can support or benefit from The Professional Innovators Program:

• Refer promising staff or career changers to the PIIE program to grow talent from within your school and community.
• Partner with us to retain teachers and expand endorsement capacity. Options for tuition assistance are available!
• Advocate for policy solutions that sustain and expand alternate route programs. PIIE currently serves 68 candidates on the path to certification in Emotional and Cognitive Impairment, but that pipeline is at risk. Pending legislative changes could eliminate this offering, cutting off access at a time when Michigan schools need it most. Be informed, and speak to your lawmaker about this risk!
  
  

Learn more about how your school or organization can work with the PIIE program.

Together, we can ensure every Michigan student is led by a capable, and inspired educator.