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CPA makes switch to teach math

Math specialists who crunched numbers for money are taking lower pay for the satisfaction of teaching children.

BELMONT/JACKSON HEIGHTS - Recruiters for teachers get excited about guys like Drew Olson.

He has the right combination of education, experience and enthusiasm to teach algebra to middle-schoolers.

But he didn't always want to teach.

Olson studied math in college and worked as a certified public accountant auditing large companies in New York. A year and a half ago, he moved to St. Petersburg looking for adventure and a chance to help people.

He thinks he's found it at Orange Grove Magnet Middle School, just north of Ybor City.

County recruiters were thrilled to find him. This summer they scrambled to hire an additional 400 to 600 teachers to meet requirements of the class size reduction amendment.

Usually, Hillsborough County hires 800 to 1,000 new teachers every year. As of Aug. 6, the county hired 1,200 new teachers for this school year.

Math teachers are difficult to find because qualified candidates often opt to work in the business world for more money, said Janet Boatman, the district's supervisor of middle school math.

Entry-level teachers earn about $30,500 a year if they have a bachelor's degree and $33,400 if they have a master's.

"We recruit heavily to try to get high school students to have an interest in going into math education, or if you do your degree in mathematics, we're looking to see if we can teach you how to teach," Boatman said.

After two weeks of training over the summer, Olson, 25, is eager to start teaching math to seventh- and eighth-graders.

"It's something that I think is so useful and I think once kids understand how it's a part of just about everything they do, they become a little less intimidated by it," he said.

Marian Lauria-Davis, the district's supervisor of teacher recruitment, said they are looking for people with experience who can help move students along the academic continuum. The goal: improve FCAT scores.

Among Hillsborough middle schools, Wilson and Young in South Tampa tied for the top math score.

Last week, Donna Holland started teaching sixth-grade math, science and geography at Wilson after five years working in the business world. Holland, who lives on Davis Islands, likes the short drive and supportive parents at Wilson.

Originally a teacher, she left the profession for more money but came back because, "it's what I really want to do."

While the district needs math teachers overall, it particularly wants ones for seventh grade and above. That's when the teachers must be math certified.

Young, a magnet middle school for math, science and technology, still needs a seventh-grade teacher for their elective math class, a hands-on research class. The school specializes in math as evidenced by a display case full of math trophys.

At Orange Grove Middle, Principal Anthony Perrone says he looks for teachers who care about children.

"I've hired a lot of teachers on personality," he said.

Including Olson, the CPA from New York.

"His energy is contagious," he said. "He seems to tackle the challenges."

After crunching the numbers, Olson found he'll actually make more money per hour teaching than he did auditing, which required long hours.

"Instead of investing in stocks, here we're investing in human beings," he said. "That's where it's at."

- Elisabeth Dyer can be reached at 226-3321 or edyer@sptimes.com

The class size reduction amendment requires any class that exceeds the new limits to reduce the number of students by at least two this year.

Class size limits are:

Pre-k through third grade 18

Fourth through eighth grade 22

High school grades 25