If you believe a mind is a terrible thing to waste and can give 110 percent of yourself every day to every student, there may be a classroom with your name on it. California's existing shortage of trained teachers is likely to worsen, according to a December report from the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning, a Santa Cruz-based nonprofit organization. Estimates range between 200,000 and 300,000 teachers needed over the next decade.

Possibly the hardest part of the process is the confusing maze of credentials, such as preliminary, multiple subject and emergency, and the many tests required along the way.

"Seventy-five percent of our time is spent guiding people through the con-fusing information," said La Sonya Pitts, interim director for the Teacher Recruitment Center for R.I.M.S. (Riverside, Inyo, Mono and San Bernardino counties) in Colton.

The basic steps to achieve a teaching credential include a bachelor's degree or higher, passing the CBEST and other competency tests, fingerprinting and passing a criminal background check, completion of course work and student teaching.

With a bachelor's degree and the CBEST, you can gain experience by substitute teaching. Subbing allows a district to preview you as a potential employee while you evaluate different sites. Most districts pay between $80 - $100 aday,

There is a continuing need for math, bilingual education, science and special education teachers, Pitts said.

Lloyd Rekstad's first teaching job as a music teacher was cut short when he was drafted into the Army during the Vietnam War. After years as a church musical director and mortgage banker, he's back doing what he always enjoyed.

"I love teaching and I'll teach till my boots drop off, but it isn't a job for the faint of heart," said Rekstad, who drives from his home in Yucaipa to teach a first grade communicatively handicapped class at Howard Cattle Elementary School in Chino. "It's a lot of work and takes a lot of energy to keep children motivated and to stimulate them to have the desire to learn. I come home at night exhausted."

When he made the switch from mortgage banking to teaching in 1997, Rekstad started subbing as much as possible. When he decided to get his credential a district offered him a one-year contract which included benefits, with the stipulation that he obtain his credential within a certain length of time.

Night classes twice a week for two years allowed him to teach full-time and earn his preliminary credential from Azusa College in 2000. He now has five years to complete the additional courses necessary for a clear credential.

"You must have a burning desire to effect a change in children and a willingness to invest yourself in their lives," said Rekstad. "The last day of school, parents cried because of the progress their children made. There's (nothing) that can give you that kind of reward." Fifth-grade teacher Eva Evans finds having such a big impact rewarding but scary.

"Teachers have more influence than people realize," said Evans, who just finished her first year at Cole Canyon Elementary in Murrieta. "It. can be positive or negative. We need to he sure it's a positive experience. I love teaching, and I take that responsibility very seriously." After winning a ROTC scholarship and earning a bachelor's degree in criminology in 1977, Evans served in the Army until taking a personnel job in Orange County. Eventually the commute from her home in Murrieta took its toll and she looked for something not only closer to home but also closer to her heart.

Starting a new career at age 46, Evans wanted to start as high on the pay scale as possible. While continuing to work full-time, she attended Chapman College at night for two and a half years and graduated with a master's and a clear credential.

Resources To Get You Started

Teacher Recruitment Center for Riverside, Inyo, Mono and San Bernardino Counties
909.554.1940 or 888.225.8322
www.teach4rims.org or www.calteach.org

Commission On Teacher Credentialing
888.921.2682
www.ctc.ca.gov