NYS Teacher Certification
Overview
Statewide Network
of Middle Level Liaisons
March 22, 2010
MaryEllen Quinn
NYSUT
Research & Educational Services
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
www.highered.nysed.gov/tcert/pdf/otmentoredexp.pdf
Extensions of Time
• Available for up to 2 years due to:
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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
http://www.highered.nysed.gov/tcert/certificate/timeext.htm
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
CAN
CANNOT
•Teach 2 or more of the common
•Teach a course in any grade that is
branch subjects in a self-contained
being offered for high school/Regents
classroom to students in grade 5, 6, 7, credit;
8 or 9;
•Teach only a single common branch
•Provide AIS instruction for any or
academic subject.
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
A Person with the 5-9 Specialist
Certification
Can
•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.
Cannot
•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
Can
•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
•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 1st 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
www.highered.nysed.gov/tcert
• TEACH HelpLine – (518) 486-6041
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