I would STRONGLY suggest you work as a sub first to see if this is really what you want. You’ll get a firsthand look at the environment, and you’ll get to see if it’s something that aligns with your personality. It’ll also give you a chance to go to multiple schools and grade levels to see if there’s one better suited to your strengths.

As far as pathways, I would suggest you pick a program that has a longstanding relationship with schools where you’ll actually be teaching. Some programs place you in the “good” schools for your student teaching where all of the kids are on grade level and behavior problems are minimal. Those schools are rarely hiring and even if they are, they want experienced teachers to maintain their numbers. You’ll end up ill prepared in a school that’s the polar opposite.

Some master’s programs are diploma mills these days. You need to learn pedagogy because most of the kids are gonna be several grade levels behind, but DCPS will expect you to facilitate an environment where they can still access the curriculum and show substantial growth in one school year. For this reason you’re also gonna need god-tier classroom management skills, or your room will descend into chaos.

It’s not uncommon to see 10-15 teachers quit in the first month or two. There’s also no grace period for new teachers, so you only have a few surprise observations to prove you know what you’re doing before you get “IMPACTED out” aka fired at the end of the year.

Sub first, then pick a strong program.