NYS Teacher Certification Overview MaryEllen Quinn NYSUT Research & Educational Services Statewide Network of Middle Level Liaisons March 22, 2010

Today’s Session… Overview of Certification Requirements Overview of the Professional Development Requirement Overview of Middle Level Certificates

Initial Certificate College Recommendation Fingerprint clearance NYSTCE’s – LAST, ATS-W and CST Valid for 5 years No longer printed by NYSED

Professional Certificate Master’s degree Three years of teaching experience First year mentored teaching experience Citizenship Career & tech titles have varied requirements

Verification of Mentoring Public school districts must submit documentation of the mentored experience Superintendent Verification of Mentored Experience Form

Extensions of Time Available for up to 2 years due to: Childbearing, childrearing, serious or extended illness Peace Corps or other volunteer service Abolition of teaching position Extreme hardship or circumstance Active duty with Armed Forces Unable to obtain teaching position or employed outside of teaching A third year is possible for extreme hardship

Expedited Service Requests from School Districts For priority processing of: new hires; teachers eligible for their Permanent/Professional certificate; and Supplementary certificate applications. Requests made through the BOCES Regional Certification Officer

Middle Level Certificate Titles There are a variety of Certification types for teacher candidates interested in teaching at the Middle Level. These include: Middle Grades Generalist Grades 5-9 Students with Disabilities Grades 5-9 Generalist Content area certificates for grades 5-9 Content area certificates for grades 7-12 Content area certificates for Students with Disabilities Grades 7-12 Specialized content area certificate extensions for grades 5-6 and 7-9 Special Subject Area certifications for all grades

Experimental Middle School Status Assignments permissible pursuant to regulation are: Elementary school teacher may provide instruction only in: –one or more of the common branch subjects –not special subjects in grades seven and/or eight Secondary academic subject teacher may provide instruction only in: –the academic subject for which he or she is certified in grades five and/or six

Experimental Middle School Status continued… A school district may not continue the assignment of a teacher in any teaching assignment covered by an experiment in organizational change for more than 5 years unless the teacher has obtained the certificate or extension.

A Person with the 5-9 Generalist Certification CANCANNOT Teach 2 or more of the common branch subjects in a self-contained classroom to students in grade 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9; Provide AIS instruction for any or all of the common branch academic subjects in any grade; Provide instruction in the non-tested Learning Standards areas mandated for grades 5 and 6. * Note - Takes the Multi-subject CST Teach a course in any grade that is being offered for high school/Regents credit; Teach only a single common branch academic subject.

A Person with the 5-9 Specialist Certification CanCannot Teach the area of approved specialization (ELA, Math, Social Studies, or science) in grade 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9; Provide AIS instruction in the area of approved specialization in any of the grades; Teach a course being offered for high school/Regents credit. Teach a course outside his/her area of specialization; Teach an interdisciplinary course designed to meet the mandated program requirements for more than one Standards area; Provide instruction in the non-tested Learning Standards areas mandated for grades 5 and 6.

A Person with the 5-9 SWD Generalist Certification CanCannot Provide Resource room, Consultant Teacher, Integrated Co-Teaching services; and Can teach a special class to students assessed with alternate achievement standards. Required to collaborate with certified subject area general education teachers. Cannot teach a special class, core academic subjects.

Professional Development Requirement 75 clock hours required to maintain the Level III certificate 175 clock hours required to maintain Professional certificate Five year professional development (PD) cycles Follows district Professional Development Plan (PDP)

PD Requirement continued... The 5-year period begins on the July 1 st after the date of the professional certificate Can complete requirement at any time during PD period Recordkeeping & reporting requirements for both schools and individuals Due process provisions for certificate holders

PD Reporting Responsibility District Reports to SED completed PD in any year regularly employed Individual Reports to SED completed PD in any year not regularly employed All reporting through SED’s TEACH Online Services

PD Hours Adjustment Adjustments to clock hours or time for completing professional development, at discretion of SED for good cause: poor health specific mental or physical disability extended active duty with Armed Forces extreme hardship failure of school to adopt & implement PDP

Additional Info/Resources NYSED Office of Teaching Initiatives TEACH HelpLine – (518)