Douglas County School System – Human Resources Department
I Would Like to Become a Teacher!!! How Do I Get Started????
For certification, applicants who have completed a bachelor’s degree or higher but who did not
qualify for teacher certification upon graduation three types of alternate route certification
programs are available:
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Provisional-level Non-Renewable (Test-Based Route)
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One-Year Supervised Practicum Program offered through Metro RESA
(http://www.mresa.org). (Would qualify for a Provisional-level Non-Renewable certificate.)
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The GATAPP Intern Route - offered through the Georgia Teacher Alternative Preparation
Program (GA TAPP). The Douglas County School System participates in the Metro RESA TAPP
(http://www.mresa.org). (Would qualify for an IT (Intern) Certificate at the provisional
salary level.) The program will re-open February 1-28, 2008. See website
(http://www.mresa.org). TAPP for 2008-2009 will only be for the fields of middle and high
school science and math, foreign language, and special education. The subject-area content
assessments must be passed before beginning the program, except for the field of special
education.
1. Eligibility for Provisional-Level Nonrenewable Certification (Test-Based Route):
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You must have at least a bachelor level degree from a PSC approved institution with a GPA of
at least 2.5 on a 4-point scale. If your graduation date was more than 10 years ago, this
requirement is waived.
Note: there is no GPA requirement for certain vocational fields that do not require a bachelor
degree. There is also no GPA requirement for certain fields which require specific majors or
degrees. For example, specific degree requirements exist for the field of school counseling.
If you do not meet the 2.5 GPA requirement, you must have graduated from a Master's
Degree program (or higher) or be enrolled in either a Master's degree program (or higher) or
a Georgia approved educator preparation program. Information about educator preparation
programs in your field is available on the PSC web site (http://www.gapsc.com).
You must pass the basic skills test or provide documentation of exemption. The basic skills test
may be exempted if high enough scores are obtained on the SAT, ACT or GRE.
Exemption scores are as follows:
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SAT exemption: minimum combined verbal and mathematics scores totaling 1000,
GRE exemption: minimum combined verbal and quantitative scores totaling 1030,
ACT exemption: minimum combined English and mathematics scores totaling 43.
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You must pass the content assessment/s required for your certification field. Effective
September 1, 2006 Georgia implemented the GACE series of educator testing. GACE (Georgia
Assessment for the Certification of Educators) information on can be obtained at
http://www.gace.nesinc.com.
You would then be eligible to be considered for employment by a Georgia school system.
Douglas County employs teachers eligible for these types of certificates on an emergency
basis only. If offered employment with our school system, we will assist you with applying
for a non-renewable, provisional-level certificate.
Following employment, you would then need to complete an approved program at a college
or other approved provider in order to be recommended for full renewable certification.
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2. Eligibility for the One-Year Supervised Practicum Program (through Metro-RESA):
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For teaching fields only, you may participate in the One-Year Supervised Practicum Program
if you have the following:
o A degree in a field related to your area of certification;
o Basic Skills Test, either passed or exempted;
o Subject-area content assessment tests;
o Professional pedagogy tests.
Not all degree fields (majors) are well matched to certification teaching fields. Information
on degree fields can be found on the PSC web site (http://www.gapsc.com).
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Douglas County participates in the One-Year Supervised Practicum Program through MetroRESA, but hires these candidates on an emergency-basis only. Program fees are the
responsibility of the participant.
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Again, the GACE Basic Skills, the GACE Subject Area Content assessments and GACE
Pedagogy assessment will be used after September 30, 2006. Information on GACE can be
obtained at http://www.gace.nesinc.com. There are still a couple of fields which utilize the
Praxis II for subject area content assessments including Speech-Language Pathology,
Educational Leadership (until July 31, 2008) and Latin.
3.
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Certification Through Georgia TAPP (Intern Certificate)
You must be accepted into a PSC approved GA TAPP program. In order to be accepted you
must have a bachelor's degree or higher from a PSC approved institution in a related field,
with a bachelor level grade point average of 2.5 on a 4-point scale. The only exception to
having a degree in a related field is for certification in special education. Program fees are
the responsibility of the participant.
You must pass the basic skills tests or provide documentation of exemption. The basic skills
tests may be exempted if high enough scores are obtained on the SAT, ACT or GRE. (See
exemption scores on page 1 of this document.) Praxis I scores can be used until September
30, 2006. The GACE Basic Skills Test will be required after September 30, 2006.
Except for the field of special education, the subject-area content assessment tests must be
passed prior to entering the program. The GACE assessments are the required content
assessment in Georgia, with the exceptions listed above. Information on GACE can be
obtained at http://www.gace.nesinc.com.
You must be offered employment in a Georgia school system. Georgia school system
personnel are knowledgeable about the GA TAPP program and can assist you with enrollment
in the most convenient GA TAPP program. As part of the application process for GA TAPP
certification, the school system personnel office that hired you must submit evidence of your
employment with an Employer's Assurance Form or on-line equivalent.
Note: If hired by Douglas County, we will apply for your intern certification online after you
have provided required basic information and materials. Douglas County hires these
candidates on an emergency-basis only.
Documentation Required for Provisional-Level Non-Renewable (Test-Based
Certification), the One-Year Supervised Practicum or GATAPP Intern Certification
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Official Transcripts from all colleges you have attended. Your bachelor level transcript must
show the graduation date and GPA information. The transcript showing your highest degree,
regardless of major or specialization area, will be used to determine your highest certificate
level and will likely affect your pay as a Georgia teacher. The Georgia Professional Standards
Commission accepts credit only from colleges which are accredited by specific agencies.
Accreditation information can be found on the PSC web site (http://www.gapsc.com).
Passing Praxis I or GACE Basic Skills Test results or exemption documentation.
Passing Praxis II (prior to September 30, 2006) or GACE Content Assessment Test Results
for the Tests Required for your Certification Field.
(Optional) Passing GACE Professional Pedagogy. (For One-Year Supervised Practicum
participants.)
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Employment Verification. After you have been offered employment with a Georgia school
system, the certification official will submit an Employer Assurance Form on your behalf.
Employment is a requirement for the Provisional-level, Non-Renewable (Test-Based)
certificate as well as the One-Year Supervised Practicum Program and the GA TAPP Intern
Certification.
A PSC Application form containing your answers to the following questions:
o Have you ever been dismissed, non-renewed, terminated or resigned while under
investigation for allegations of or commission of a felony, a misdemeanor involving
moral turpitude or a violation of any profession’s code of ethics?
o Do you have any charges pending against you for committing a felony, a misdemeanor
involving moral turpitude or a violation of any profession’s code of ethics?
o Have you ever had any adverse action (i.e. warning, reprimand, suspension,
revocation, voluntary surrender, etc.) taken against any professional certificate or
license by any agency (in any state) other than the Georgia Professional Standards
Commission?
o For any felony or for any misdemeanor offense involving moral turpitude, have you
ever:
 Pled guilty;
 Been found guilty;
 Entered a plea of nolo contendere;
 Been granted first offender treatment without adjudication of guilt;
 Participated in a pre-trial diversion program; or
 Been placed under a court order whereby an adjudication or sentence was
withheld?
“Moral turpitude” is defined at http://www.gapsc.com
Additional certification information, including a list of program providers, self-evaluation
test, etc., is available at the Professional Standards Commission web site,
http://www.gapsc.com.
(revised September 10, 2007)