Alternative Teacher Certification in Florida: April 2009

I graduated with my Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of North Florida. Hooray!

Steps to Alternative Certification

Those choosing Alternative Certification in Florida have to go through a few steps.

First, all people wanting Alternative Certification must have a Bachelor's Degree. It doesn't matter what the subject was, just that you have one. So, if you don't-- go do that.
So, you have your Bachelors? The second step is getting your "Status of Eligibility" for a Temporary Teaching Certificate at this website. There, you must pay a $75 fee for each subject area they want to be certified in. (I paid 150 bucks for K-6 Elementary and Middle Grades Integrated Curriculum).
Third, register for your FTCE test by going here. Each test costs $50 to take and $100 to retake. Buy a test information guide from the website for $5 while you're at it. It's very helpful and worth the cost. There are a variety of preparation materials you can get at bookstores, I've reviewed some here (link coming soon).

For your Temporary Teaching Certificate all you need is:

Passing scores on your subject exam of choice (K-6, ESE, Middle Grades, etc.)
Status of Eligibility (indicating you are eligible for your intended subject area)
AND a teaching job (That's right. You don't get anything for being jobless. Just a piece of paper saying you're eligible. How worthless is that?)

For your Professional Teaching Certificate you need:

Passing scores on your Subject Area Exam (SAE), General Knowledge Test (GKT), and Professional Education Test (PET)
Status of Eligibility (Indicating you've passed all these tests.=)
AND a teaching job (Again. Yay)

And, that's it! Now, finding a job in these hard economic times is difficult.. blah blah blah, we've heard it all before. To make yourself marketable to principals, try getting multiple subject area certifications and be sure to get in volunteer hours in an educational setting. It can be a pain, but if you're wanting to teach for the right reasons, it shouldn't be too painstaking. =)

Alternative Teacher Certification in Florida

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Friday, April 24, 2009

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