The University of Miami, working with two local nonprofits, is trying to help Miami-Dade public schools with a new, privately funded initiative called the Teacher Accelerator Program (TAP). Starting in the spring semester in January, University of Miami seniors who may have never considered going into a classroom will be able to graduate as teachers with a guaranteed job waiting for them.

All non-education majors at UM can now take a one-semester class (Teaching and Learning 590) during their senior year, enroll in a six-week paid summer internship and then start with Miami-Dade County Public Schools next fall, after getting their certification. Participants will earn $5,000 for the internship, working alongside veteran educators.

Three institutions created TAP: the UM School of Education and Human Development; Achieve Miami, a nonprofit that tries to narrow divides among students in Miami-Dade County; and Teach for America Miami-Dade; a nonprofit that recruits college graduates to teach in low-income communities for at least two years