Yale University appears to be ripe source of new teachers. First, there's the Teach Kentucky program, which began four years ago as an effort by determined Yale alum Rowan Claypool to recruit that university's graduates to teach in Kentucky. His effort has since expanded to include grads of other elite schools like Middlebury and Vanderbilt. For a total program cost of $77,000, about a dozen new teachers are recruited each year with some sensible incentives for new college grads, such as free transitional housing and a small stipend.

And back in New Haven, Yale has teamed up with the local school district to provide up to ten high-quality new teachers annually to schools that are more accustomed to being the last choice of job-hunting teachers. The students will receive $18,000 stipends and full tuition subsidies for their master's degrees in urban education from Yale. New Haven loses many teachers to the state's tonier suburbs, and officials hope that this program will recruit people looking for a challenge. "These are people who really want to be urban teachers," said Reginald Mayo, New Haven's superintendent of schools.