Fast-track teaching: once professionals of a different kind, now they teach. .

Shumit DasGupta, a 28-year-old Michigan native, had an affinity for science. But he didn't feel at home in a laboratory.

Amy Frangipane, a former Pennsylvania resident, was intrigued with journalism, but dabbled in advertising before her desire to serve others tugged at her heart.

The two crossed paths in Chicago last spring when they separately saw advertisements on a train for a program that encouraged people in other professions to try teaching.

The Golden Apple Foundation Mission, a not-for-profit organization in Chicago, created a program three years ago that recruits men and women into the teaching profession after they undergo a short summer program and a year-long stint in the classroom. It is similar to other "fast-track teacher" programs, including New York City's Teaching Fellows and Teach for Georgia programs, which address a chronic teacher shortage in the nation's biggest cities.

Tim Lemberger, a spokesman for Golden Apple, says the idea for an alternative certification program initially came about after several teachers realized they did not receive the necessary training, or enough hands-on experience, to enter a classroom. "The traditional system doesn't necessarily prepare someone to be a good teacher," he says.

Chicago public schools started its own fast track teaching program in January.

"Four out of five days I think this is the greatest thing I ever did," says DasGupta, who teaches biology and earth science at Percy L. Julian High School. "Then one day out of five I think, `What have I gotten myself into?'"

DasGupta worked in various labs as a lab technician. His last job was working for federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, where he tested the runoff from landfills for chemicals or PCPs.

He talks about the strain of working in an inner-city district and the days when his "grandiose ideas" of a lesson end up flopping. But he says good days outnumber the bad. "It's the first job I've had that I'm not counting the minutes before I can go home," he says.

Tapping Your Full Potential

Frangipane, 25, agrees. A graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, Frangipane landed a job in advertising. But she says she was "very involved in volunteering" and working with children.

But her 9-to-5 job offered "a ton of perks," she says. She was taken to lunch and given tickets to major events. Frangipane says when she saw an ad for Golden Apple, however, she "didn't feel like I was doing anything good for humanity and mankind."

"It just seemed like a wonderful way to lend my talents after [experiencing] the real world," says Frangipane, who now teaches second grade at Roswell B. Mason Elementary School.

DasGupta and Frangipane were among 46 people who started the summer program this year. After a "grueling" application and interview process, DasGupta says they started an eight-week program. In the morning, they worked with mentor teachers in summer school classrooms, and in the afternoon, they attended classes at Northwestern University. They learned about educational philosophy and the history of American and Chicago public schools, as well as about urban school teaching skills.

As an urban teacher, DasGupta says, "you have to be extraordinarily creative. Sometimes the resources you would expect to be there aren't."

His students in four classes have to share resources, such as beakers or a set of 30 textbooks. "You have to find ways for students to visualize scientific ideas without fancy equipment," he says. He adds that when he compares atoms to Legos, he gets results. "When you bring up real examples, you can get through to them."

Frangipane says a wrenching part of teaching is not having more books. The children thirst for books because they lack them at home, she says. "It makes me so sad that a book can make them so happy," she says. "They beg me to read to them."

Worth the Risk

During the school year, the new teachers attend more classes at Northwestern University, including those in mentoring and induction of new teachers.

When the school year is completed, Frangipane and DasGupta will turn in a portfolio of their work, including a videotape of their teaching and written essays on what type of work they accomplished and who they are as teachers. If they are approved, they receive a state of Illinois teacher certification.

DasGupta says his roughly $36,000 salary, including a pension, is more than enough for now and more than he was making before. "I feel like a millionaire." Regarding his future as an urban educator, DasGupta says, "I don't know what I'm going to do. I'm not saying I'm going to run to the suburbs. I enjoy it. They're good kids. They definitely come from a rougher background but that doesn't mean they're not still kids and they don't want to learn."

Frangipane agrees that the children want to learn, but it's a challenge. "It's changed my life," she says. "I don't have a lot of time to myself ... but this is something I wanted to do. I think this year will be incredibly difficult. But there are a lot of moments when I sit back and smile. If I see the learning moments, that makes me happy. It's a very long and tiring day. I think it's going to be a lot of trial and error. And once I get through this, ... things will go a lot smoother. It's exciting ... I hope I'm going to stick with it."

Angela Pascopella is associate features editor.