To meet the demand for certified math and science teachers, alternative certification programs attempt to provide fast-track training and licensure of STEM-area educators (Goldhaber, Kreig, Theobald, & Brown, 2014). Teachers prepared in programs with a middle level specialization have been shown to participate in effective practices such as teaming and collaborative instructional strategies (Mertens, Flowers, & Mulhall, 2002). However, few preparation programs have middle level specializations, and teachers prepared in accelerated programs tend to have greater difficulties with classroom management, planning, and differentiated instruction than those prepared in traditional programs (Darling-Hammond, 2009; Wilson, 2011). Researchers examined a cohort of beginning teachers completing an accelerated STEM M.A.T. program whose struggles with planning and engaging young adolescents seemed outside of the norm. Utilizing the middle school model (NMSA, 2010; Jackson & Davis, 2000), Lortie's (1975) apprenticeship of observation, and the formation of teaching beliefs (Richardson, 2003) as an integrated framework, this study sought to describe and explain the beliefs of beginning STEM teachers prepared in an accelerated M.A.T. program. Findings indicate new teachers from STEM backgrounds view their students through the lenses of their previous educational experiences and highlight the need for traditional teacher preparation and specialized middle level instruction.