Public Relations to Teaching: TEACH-NOW Grad Closes the Loop
| by Hannah Sparling
Her initial career plan was to work in public relations. In France.
Instead, Patricia Polster ended up as an elementary school teacher in Rockville, Maryland.
“I’m extremely lucky in that I get to teach in French,” said Polster, who teaches first grade in a French immersion program for Montgomery County Public Schools. “I’m actually transmitting two critical domains: I’m transmitting the language, and I’m transmitting what kids need to learn to move on to second grade and beyond.”
Polster, a French native, came to the U.S. during college for what was supposed to be a 6-month stint studying journalism and public relations. After she graduated, though, she learned she could apply for jobs on her student visa. She got an interview, she landed a job, and she moved to D.C., where she worked on the PR team for a lobbyist group representing the publishing industry.
“One thing led to another,” she said, “and some 30 years later, I’m still here.”

Patricia Polster leads a math lesson on comparing lengths.
‘You Need to Jump’
Polster loved her work in PR. And teaching, let alone teaching in America, was never on her radar. She was still working in D.C. when she had her first child and decided to take a break from the workforce to stay home with him. He had special needs, she said, so she got an up-close look at the school system while working with his teachers and advocating for his support.
“I got to work with countless wonderful teachers,” she said, “and that really was an eye-opener for me.”
When her younger son got into the French immersion program at MCPS, Polster started volunteering with the school, a natural fit for a native speaker. She did that for a few years before taking a full-time position as a paraprofessional, which she did for another 10 or 11 years. Then, there was an opening for a lead teacher in the immersion program.
“I was told, ‘OK, you need to jump,’” Polster said.
She started teaching with a provisional license and enrolled in Moreland University’s TEACH-NOW Teacher Preparation Certificate Program. She graduated from TEACH-NOW in 2024 and passed her certification exams, checking the final box for her professional license.
“Moreland was such a great experience for me,” she said. “I won’t say it was easy, because it was intense. But it was a very supported process. And every step of the way, from the moment I applied to the moment I graduated, was so well done.”

In the immersion program, Polster teaches entirely in French.
‘Complete Package’
As a career changer with no formal teacher training, Polster wasn’t sure what to expect from Moreland. But she liked the ease of the application process, she said, and Moreland’s admissions reps were quick to answer her questions. Plus, through MCPS’ partnership with Moreland, her tuition was fully covered.
“I went on the website, applied, uploaded my documents, and in just a matter of a few minutes, my application was approved,” she said. “The process was smooth and seamless.”
Her instructors were responsive and knowledgeable, she said, and she was able to immediately apply the lessons in her classroom. She thinks back to the student teaching module, for example, where one piece of feedback she got was to take a step back and let her students lead. During a recent lesson on sound, when Polster’s class was experimenting with cup-and-string telephones, she remembered that advice.
“They had to go through the engineering process of figuring out the problem and trying different things until it worked,” she said. “When you have that, when they’re collaborating and become their own teachers — that’s really fabulous.”
Moreland also taught her a lot about tools and technologies to use in her teaching. Over winter break, she recorded a Loom video for her students’ parents — a skill she learned through Moreland.
“As a 21st century teacher, you have to be well versed in technology, and Moreland has an amazing strength in that,” she said. “Moreland is really a complete package. You don’t need anything else aside from Moreland, you absolutely don’t. You are going to be taken care of. You are going to get the help you need.”
Closing her Career Loop
Polster is finishing up her second year as a lead teacher for MCPS. She wants to give herself a little time to relax after earning her professional certification, but then her goal is to keep taking classes, learning, and developing as an educator. She’s interested in learning more about language and educational technology. She may also look into earning her master’s degree with Moreland.
“Professional development is so important,” she said.
Teaching wasn’t part of her initial career plan, but it does feel like a natural next chapter. She loves seeing her students’ faces when a difficult lesson clicks. She loves the smiles, the stories, and the “organized chaos” of the classroom.
PR was all about connections and communication, she said. Teaching is the same.
“I feel I’m closing the loop,” she said. “It’s a very wide loop, but I’m closing it.”
Earn your professional teaching certification in as little as 9 months with Moreland University’s TEACH-NOW Teacher Preparation Certificate Program. From there, you have the option to add a master’s degree in just 3 additional months.