State Department of Education (DOE) officials say their efforts have been successful so far. According to the DOE website, the number of new teachers recruited through the program doubled this year, to 117. Palumbo says he expects a similar number this year.

"There are a lot of people who have always wanted to teach, but in this economy, though their feelings are in teaching, they can make a lot more money elsewhere," says Jonathan Palumbo, a spokesperson for the DOE. "We are trying to make teaching respected as a high-quality occupation."

The value goes beyond the money itself, students say.

"I believe the signing bonus is an important sign of government commitment to acknowledging the vital role that teachers play in the community," Small says.

Palumbo agrees: "We want to have the best teachers in our state, and people are responding to that," he says.

Rakoff also notes that the state program makes it easier to transition from college to the classroom.

"The money offered by programs is not the lure," she says. "It is the opportunity to teach without having gone to ed school that is the real draw."

Massachusetts isn't the only state that is making efforts to recruit new teachers. A number of national programs exist that hire college graduates for teaching posts, Rakoff says, including Breakthrough for Learning in New York, Teachers for Chicago and the Mississippi Teacher Corps.