IMESD can turn industry workers into teachers
By Terry Murry on Friday, March 27th, 2026 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
PENDLETON – The InterMountain Education Service District is not just in the business of providing services to schools. It can also help people who are tired of their careers in technical industries to become teachers instead through the CTEACH program.
“They are people who like kids,” Superintendent Mark Mulvihill said. “They’ve coached. They have a real strong interest and a very strong skill set in an area that is a career advancement.”
Mulvihill said that there is grant funding available and people ready to help them enter education and exit industry. CTEACH provides licensing support, mentoring, and professional development opportunities for new career and technical education teachers.
For example, Dave Fowler from Heppner Junior/Senior High School and Jeff Schlaht from Ione School are manufacturing teachers that are in the program this year. They talk about it at https://youtu.be/Cp3NT2Yn16A.
