The International Schools Review Forum

Hi all,

I'm an experienced K-12 teacher with thirteen years under my belt teaching science in middle and high school (IB and AP). All of my teaching experience is from private schools in the U.S. so I never bothered to get my certification since it is not encouraged in most private schools. I have a Master's degree and currently teach at a reputable international school in South America.

I would like to finally get my teaching certification so that I can apply for jobs in Asia in a few years. I've found plenty of initial certifications that last up to five years, but I can't find a permanent certification or license that doesn't require me to teach in that particular state.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm open to all ideas. Anyone pursued the National Teacher Certification? Can you do this while living abroad?

I really do not want to teach back in the U.S. any time soon, so I'm curious if anyone has any ideas.

Thanks!! :D

Its not "encouraged" to be certified in a private/independent school? We have very different experiences.

I am unaware of a any state that has a "permanent" or lifetime certification at this time for teachers entering the profession (applying for initial certification). Several states still maintain legacy lifetime/permanent certifications, but if you dont already have it, you cant get it. California is a popular state for international teachers to "park" their certification, you have to renew the certificate every 5 years but they dont require and PD to renew.

The Teach Ready Program in Florida will allow you to do your field work overseas, a number of other ACP programs in MA, TX, LA, and WA will work with a candidate who is placed out of the state/country, though this is on a case by case basis.

Im a NBCT certified teacher in 2 areas, the certification is not a standalone certification its a "compliment" to your state certification, you can not apply if youre not state certified. The NBCT is not valid and cant be renewed if your not state certified. There are a few teachers that I know of, who are NBCT certified that currently dont have a state certification. either they were hired before their certification lapsed, or the schools dont understand the NBCT certification.

Are you really focused on a American program? A PGCE from the UK is the standard accepted teaching credential for ISs, and aside from some observational hours, which you could do anywhere in the world, the program consists entirely of coursework, and many universities offer a distance or online option.

Take a look at The College of New Jersey's global program, which is a certification/master's degree program specifically for teachers already teaching overseas. It takes three summers to complete, two summers if you only want the cert and not the master's, and there is coursework during the year as well.

You'd end up with a NJ teaching certification, which is good for the life of the teacher.

Hi,

Try Washington or Colorado for an initial license that will remain valid (as long as you don't start teaching in-state). However, I am not aware of any programs from these 2 states that will help people working abroad obtain initial certification.

Thanks for all of your help and suggestions.

Buffalofan, I've heard of pursuing a license like this as well. I know I can get my initial license in Massachusetts by only taking a few tests. It says it lasts for five years once you begin teaching in MA, but if I don't do that, I'm curious just how long it would work for overseas teaching. I wonder if anyone out there is doing this.

Psyguy, thanks for the suggestions and info on the National certification, as well as the other programs you mentioned. "Permanent" certification is the wording that California uses, not mine. Sorry for the confusion and yes, top tier private schools in NY and CA care about advanced degrees in your field of teaching. Might not be true for elementary teachers, but was certainly true for middle and high school teachers.

Thanks for your help.

I've had a valid MA teaching certificate since 1999. Except for my student teaching, I've never taught in MA. Every time it's up for renewal I have to certify that I'm not teaching in MA, then I send them $100 and it's renewed. However, my teacher training program was in MA and they helped me to get the initial certificate, so I'm not sure how it works if you're already overseas. Best of luck!

[quote="PsyGuy"] California is a popular state for international teachers to "park" their certification, you have to renew the certificate every 5 years but they dont require and PD to renew. [/quote]

I didn't know this, good to know....so if I get a CA certificate through the reciprocity, would I automatically receive the Clear Credential CA offers or the Preliminary Credential?

[quote="teacher4429"]I've had a valid MA teaching certificate since 1999. Except for my student teaching, I've never taught in MA. Every time it's up for renewal I have to certify that I'm not teaching in MA, then I send them $100 and it's renewed. However, my teacher training program was in MA and they helped me to get the initial certificate, so I'm not sure how it works if you're already overseas. Best of luck![/quote]

This is also how the Colorado certificate works, I've heard. With the Washington cert, it is actually issued without an expiry date - you only get an expiry date if you begin teaching in Washington.

I'm aware that many private schools do care about advance degrees, my experience has also been that they value their teachers being certified. The idea that they would "discourage" it is not congruent with any of my experiences.

I can't say which certification, the preliminary or the clear you would be issued. I was issued clear credentials with the exception of SPED, where i was issued a level II credential only in M/M, M/S, PHI, and ECSI. You can see the basic checklist here:

http://www.ctc.ca.gov/credentials/leaflets/cl874.pdf

Basically if you have a masters degree, The hardest part is getting the English learner authorization for the clear credential. California accepted my state ESL teaching certificate as meeting the requirements.

Try looking at AZ. If you complete a certification program that meets their requirements, you can get certified from overseas. I did, and I've never stepped foot in that state.