The International Schools Review Forum

I am hoping to get some advice on gaining either a state or provincial administrative certificate through an online program. I have been researching for awhile and have not been able to find anything appropriate. I am aware of the PTC and plan on attending and completing this over the next two years, but many schools seem to require a state (or equivalent) certification. I am Canadian trained with a Masters from a major Canadian university in Administration and Leadership (which is the requirement in my home province, there is not a separate certificate required).

Any advice on a decent US or Canadian certification program would be appreciated.

Cheers,
MoC

You dont need a program, if you have a any masters degree and 2 years of teaching experience you can take the SLLA exam and receive your administration credential from D.C. (District of Columbia). Application is available to non-citizens and you will need to submit a CRB clearance. The exam isnt overly difficult and it offered by ETS (the same company that manages the PRAXIS), the exam is computer based and available at testing centers globally ($450). The application fee is $50 and you need to submit your transcripts with your application.

If you already have the Masters in Admin and Leadership, I recommend the Washington DC route. I just completed my certification through this method. The test is heavy, but if you have already studied admin and leadership, you should be okay. However, you DO need to study because the language will be written from a US perspective and about US education topics. The test is available all over the world through ETS.

Do you need a masters in educational leadership (or something like it) or does a masters in education/teaching work as well?

@Dredge

I didnt find the test heavy at all, I took it cold (no study or prep) outside of the ETS practice questions. There wasnt anything really US specific, though it was more directed towards public/regulated/maintained DE

@cattalus

Any Masters is acceptable, it need not be in Ed.Ld, it need not even be in education or even related to education. You could have a Masters in metaphysics, interdisciplinary studies, art history (as long as the Uni awarding the degree was accredited) and it would meet the requirements.

Thanks for the information, hadn't heard of this route and was dreading having to do a full certificate program. Will look into it, thanks again!

MoC

PsyGuy wrote:
> @Dredge
>
> I didnt find the test heavy at all, I took it cold (no study or prep)
> outside of the ETS practice questions. There wasnt anything really US
> specific, though it was more directed towards public/regulated/maintained
> DE

Ummmm...Unless I have lost command of the English language your response implies that you did study from the ETS prep questions, which would mean you did not 'take it cold.' Everyone who takes this test studies from the ETS test prep questions so how are you better than everyone else?

Do you really find it wise to encourage people to not study for a $450 test, plus traveling expenses if necessary?

@Dredge

I wouldnt say studied, there are 20 sample questions in the free prep guide, I read and answered them once. I consider that a cold administration. I didnt study anything.

I wouldnt argue it was wise or unwise, it depends on the individual. Studying can do more damage than help, you approach the exam as some kind of challenge with trick questions and strategies, you read too much into the question, you overthink what the response is. You approach the items as an achievement test meant to assess knowledge of management and educational theory when in reality its a "Can you consistently choose the response that best CYAs"

Thats not the issue however, Im publishing my experience, this is what I did, and the outcomes, and my ana1ysis based on that experience. Your experience differs, there is no quality of wisdom to either, they are reports of what we did differently.

Thanks for the advice folks, I am registered for the exam at a local office later in the year. I also plan on completing the PTC certification, but through applying to a range of schools some seem pretty hung up on a "certificate" rather than a degree. At any rate, hopefully this will tick the necessary boxes to get a foot in the door for some interviews.

Cheers,
MoC

@momentofclarity

Lots of ITs have a Masters, and many of them have an M.Ed, and of those many are in Ed.Ld, in the corporate world your as likely to see a manager with an Ed.Ld degree as opposed to an MBA.

I have reviewed the DC website and it looks like the pathway mentioned has been amended to reflect a two year non-renewable administrator services license. For those that have attended masters programs that do not result in admin certification/endorsement, are there other options for administration certification/endorsement? Also, is there any sense of the need for such certification in the international school community? Is a Masters in Leadership sufficient for administrative positions or is there a trend towards a dual requirement? Seems like a high bar to place as many international administrators come from U.S. independent schools with no such requirement or commonwealth countries without such a process. Thoughts?

There is no standard expectation. Reasonable schools tend to expect that you have whatever qualifications are available in your home country. Others expect the impossible or require qualifications from the country they're associated with.
If you're American, you're best off with US qualifications even if your school didn't require it.

There definitely seems to be a need in most of the school's I have been applying to. The required qualifications typically list the need for both an advanced degree (preferably in leadership/administration) AND an administrators certificate. I think some reasonable schools will accept the PTC certificate for this, but others explicitly state the need for a state/national/provincial (depending on school model) administrator certificate.

I will look into the DC certification again, it won't serve me very well if it is only a limited validity and I have to re-up every couple of years.

Thanks,
MoC

Per the website it seems evident that non-renewable means that the credential would only be good for two years. Not sure how that could be of benefit to an educator. As far as the broader discussion goes, it seems odd that schools are requiring certification/endorsement credentials as this applies largely to applicants from the U.S. public schools. Independent U.S schools rarely require certification and are ideologically/pedagogically closer to the international school model. Thoughts?

It's my understanding that when you initially apply with all required paperwork, minus the passing test score, you have two years with the provisional license, in order to complete the SLLA 6011 leadership test with passing scores for DC. The professional license lasts 4 years and has to be renewed at a cost of $50, but I don't think there is any PD tied to it.

I think in order for some schools to meet specific accreditation requirements they need to have certified administrators and teachers in all areas, or in order to get visas. I could be wrong, but if you want to get into administration, getting the DC certification is the easy route if you already have a masters degree and would make you more marketable and possibly able to negotiate a higher salary.