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Your Route to Becoming a Teacher through
TLU’s Post-baccalaureate Teacher Certification Program 

 
  1. Apply to TLU’s Post-baccalaureate Teacher Certification Program .
    1. Determine the certification you wish to pursue. You need to have subject matter expertise in the content area. Refer to the semester-hour requirements for course work in the content area on the website at http://www.tlu.edu/cpd_acp_admission.
    2. TLU accepts applications year-round. You may start the program with any of the four on-campus courses.
    3. Download the application materials from the website at www.tlu.edu/cpd_acp_apply.
    4. If you have questions or want to discuss the program before you submit your application, arrange for a meeting with Dr. Rosemary Dawson, the program director (rdawson@tlu.edu; 830.372.8047).
    5. Submit a complete application package that represents your best work.
    6. TLU will arrange for an interview with a screening committee composed of faculty from the Teacher Education program and other disciplines on campus. All of your written material and oral communication are considered in the interview process.
  2. Acceptance into the program
    1. After the interview, you will receive a letter indicating the decision of the screening committee:
                                                               i.      Unconditional acceptance
                                                             ii.      Conditional acceptance
                                                            iii.      Denied acceptance
                                                           iv.      Deferred acceptance
    1. If you are conditionally accepted, your letter will state what conditions must be met before and/or during your program. Common conditions include the following:
                                                               i.      Submission of any missing components of an application packet
                                                             ii.      Additional content area course work to remedy deficiencies in the subject area
                                                            iii.      Required grades in Post-baccalaureate Teacher Certification Program courses
  1. Receive your TLU ID and other information.
    1. You will be assigned a TLU identification number (ID).
    2. You will also be given a TLU email address. Check this email account often!
  2. Enroll in your first course.
    1. You will receive instructions on how to enroll on line for your course.
    2. You need to enroll online during the window assigned for Post-baccalaureate Teacher Certification Program students.
    3. If you don’t enroll during that window, you need to go to Registration and Records in Beck Hall to enroll in person.
  3. Decide on a payment plan.
    1. You may pay for your classes in full, or you may pay in three monthly installments.
    2. The 2008-09 tuition is $300 per credit hour ($900 per three-hour course).
    3. Sources of funding
                                                               i.      Students enrolled in six hours per semester may be eligible for financial aid.
                                                             ii.      The program is approved for WIA (Workforce Incentive Act) funding through the Texas Workforce Commission.
                                                            iii.      TLU also coordinates with Troops to Teachers.
    1. Tuition for the previous semester must be paid in full to be able to enroll for the next term.
  1. Prepare for the TExES exam in your content area.
    1. Preparation manuals are available at http://texes.ets.org/texes/prepMaterials/.
    2. Arrange to take the practice exam in the Center for Professional Development (call 830.372.8047).
    3. You must score 80% or better to be approved to take the actual exam.
  2. Register to take the TExES exam in your content area.
    1. Test registration is a multi-step process.
                                                               i.      Create a login and profile with the State Board of Educator Certification at http://www.sbec.state.tx.us/.
1.       Remember: the name you create this account under must match the ID documents you will present on the day of the test, otherwise you may be prohibited from taking the test or your test scores may be canceled after you take the test.
2.       After establishing SBEC Educator Profile, make sure that you write down your assigned TEA ID number. A TEA ID number is used for identification throughout the certification and test registration process.
3.       Print your SBEC Educator Profile so that it will be handy when you register to test.
                                                             ii.      Obtain approval to take the exam.
1.       Notify Dr. Rosemary Dawson that you plan to register to take a TExES exam (rdawson@tlu.edu; 830.372.8047).
2.       Dr. Dawson will enter the approval into the SBEC system.
                                                            iii.      Register with Educational Testing Service at http://texes.ets.org/.
1.       You must create an ETS personal testing account before you can access the ETS online registration system.
2.       Guidelines for establishing an account on the ETS online registration system are found under Your Account at http://texes.ets.org/youraccount/.
3.       You must create a personal account on the ETS online registration system even if you already have a valid user name and password on the SBEC site.
4.       Be sure to write your logins down and keep them in a secure place for future use. Remember that the information entered in the ETS online registration system must match the information in your SBEC Educator Profile.
8.    Obtain a first-year teaching (internship) position.
a.       You need to be employed full-time at an independent school district or TEA-accredited private school.
b.      You should pursue several avenues to find a teaching position.
                                                               i.      Look at job announcements on the websites of the districts in your geographic area.
                                                             ii.      Look in the classified ads in local newspapers.
                                                            iii.      Contact district human resources offices.
                                                           iv.      Network with educators (administrators and teachers) at schools in your geographic area.
                                                             v.      Attend job fairs that are held in April and May, including at TLU.
                                                           vi.      Be vigilant in June and July since the majority of the hiring for alternative candidates occurs in July and August.
                                                          vii.      Continue to look throughout the year because it is possible to be hired after the school year has begun.
c.       Generally, school districts will recruit first for fully certified teachers, then for non-certified teachers who have passed the content area TExES. Do not be discouraged that a teacher with standard certification is hired before you or that there are many applying for a particular position.
  1. After being offered a position, do the following immediately.
    1. Submit the Post-baccalaureate Teacher Certification Program Internship Application form.
    2. TLU will send an agreement to the district stipulating each party’s roles and responsibilities.
    3. Go to the SBEC website and apply for probationary certification and pay the required fee (currently $82).
    4. Complete the fingerprinting process (complete instructions are on the SBEC website).
    5. Notify Dr. Rosemary Dawson (830.372.8047; rdawson@tlu.edu), TLU’s certification officer, that you have applied for probationary certification. Dr. Dawson will go to the SBEC site and approve your application.
    6. Dr. Dawson will also complete the Statement of Eligibility that verifies that you are enrolled in an alternative certification program and lists the content areas in which you can be hired on a Probationary Certificate. The statement of eligibility, signed by your district administrator, must be returned to the Center for Professional Development.
  2. Complete your internship.
    1. The internship is designed to prepare you to earn your standard (full) certificate.
    2. You can begin teaching full time earning a teacher’s salary with benefits while you complete your program requirements. This can be done at anytime during the program.
    3. You will complete the first year of teaching with the support of a TLU internship supervisor.
    4. You must teach in the content area of the certification you are pursuing.
    5. The district is required to assign a mentor for you as well.
    6. Complete guidelines, requirements, etc. are in the TLU Internship Handbook.
  3. If you have trouble finding a first-year teaching assignment or wish to complete this requirement in another way, you may do one semester of student teaching to complete program requirements. Contact Dr. Eduardo Torres, the TLU student teacher coordinator, who will secure a placement in a local school district.
  4. Complete the four on-campus Post-baccalaureate Teacher Certification Program courses.
    1. The required courses are as follows:
                                                               i.      ED 332 - Learning Processes and Evaluation
                                                             ii.      ED 334A - U.S. Schools
                                                            iii.      ED 431, ED 432, or ED 433 - Instructional Strategies
                                                           iv.      ED 437, ED 438, or ED 471 - Classroom Management
    1. The course descriptions and the schedule of classes are on the website at www.tu.edu/alternative_teacher_certification.
  1. Complete any other conditions of a conditional acceptance.
  2. Take the TExES Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities (PPR) exam for your area of certification.
    1. Study the preparation manual available at http://texes.ets.org/texes/prepMaterials/.
    2. Arrange to take the practice exam in the Center for Professional Development (call 830.372.8047).
    3. You must score 80% or better to be approved to take the actual exam.
    4. Follow the procedures for registering to take a TExES exam outlined above.
  3. Upon meeting all requirements, including passing the PPR, apply for your standard teacher certification.
    1. Go to the SBEC website to apply for standard certification.
    2. Pay the required fee (currently $77).
    3. Notify Dr. Rosemary Dawson (830.372.8047; rdawson@tlu.edu), TLU’s certification officer,that you have applied for standard certification. Dr. Dawson will go to the SBEC site and approve your application.
  4. Congratulations! You are now a fully certified teacher in the state of Texas.
    1. This will enhance your employment options.
    2. Once you have standard certification in one area, you may apply for certification in other areas without going through a teacher education program. You may prepare for and take the TExES exam in other areas.
    3. Texas has reciprocity with most other states.
 
If you have any questions about the above, please contact Dr. Rosemary Dawson (rdawson@tlu.edu; 830.372.8047).

 

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