Teacher Certification - Texas Teachers

Hello Becky! My husband finished his cert with Texas Teachers in september and he really liked it. That being said education seems to be a flooded market right now. He has been looking since september and has had no luck. He too is special ed certified. The only district he has had luck in subing is Venus ISD. The woman at Richardson ISD said they had over 3,000 applicants. So...Maybe if you finish it in March/April you will be out in just the right time to go to all of the job fairs.
Good luck!

I also went back for my certification when I was 30 and it was the best decision I ever made. I love to teach now. I went throught the MAT program at Texas Woman's University. It allows you to get your masters and your certification at the same time. I worked full time while completing the program and had a little one at home so it is possible. I think it is better than the alt. certification programs becuase some school districts (for example Lewisville) look at alternative certifications last for jobs. Just my two cents.

Becky,

If you are truly interested in teaching, I would encourage you to look into other programs rather than Texas Teachers. I am a Special Ed Administrator in a local district and we have had much better success with those who have gone through the alt cert program from Region 10. Although the Texas Teachers program is good, it does not have much emphasis on special ed.

Another suggestion is to substitute teach for a while before entering a program. This would give you the opportunity to experience different areas at different grade levels and might help you narrow down your true interest.

Best of luck to you!

I have known 2 people who have gone through the alternative certification program. One of them is my ex. He actually was certified to teach secondary ed with an emphasis in the Social Sciences. Well, what we found when we moved to Texas was that was code for "athletic coach" and he had no background in that. So he went ahead and applied for the alternative program. He started that in 1997. He immediately got a posotion as a 2nd grade teacher in Dallas. He moved his way into admin, and as of last year is now a principle.

I would say it was the best decision he could have made. He is extremely happy now in his position. Of course he had always been interested in becoming a teacher, but if you feel it in your heart you should definetly pursue it.

I just finished my classes with Region 4 certification. I loved it and am on the waiting list to do my student teaching. I recommend to that you do some substitute teaching to see if this is what you want to do. I live in Lubbock and substitute at Lubbock Cooper South Elementary and found that I love it! I am 45 and just now figuring out what I want to be when I grow up! This is a good program, and you can contact them at http://www.region4teachercertification.net/ and get all of the information. You can do student teaching or find an internship somewhere (this you will get paid for). I highly recommend doing this. Good luck and if you have any questions feel free to contact me!

L.

I went through texas teachers and i am in my second year of teaching kindergarten. I would definitly substitute to see if that is really what you want to do. Teaching is A LOT of work. I did teach before so I had some clue about what to expect. Texas Teachers doesn't prepare you for anything much less Special Ed. A lot of people do the Special Ed certification because it is where they need most teachers (that and bilingual). Alos the market is flooded with teachers and like others have said,, some districts look last at alt. certification. And if you ever move, some states won't recognize your certification because it is alternative (no matter how long you have been teaching-I am running into this problem). Having said all this, I have a great team and my first year most of us on the team where 1 year teachers. I didn't feel like I was behing thise who went the tradtional route, but like I said I have previous teaching experience (even though it wasn't at the level I am teaching).
Good Luck...

My Mother-In-Law is a Special Ed teacher in College Station/Bryan area. I asked her about this and this is her response:

There are many alternative programs depending on the area where people live in Texas. Blinn College has one of them. Each Region has one through their offices. There are several online ones but I am not familiar with their names. Fort Worth School District used to have one of their own as does Houston ISD>

Becky, in my opinion, if I were you I would check out other schools and compare them. Then I would think about the positives and the negatives of each one of them closest to you,etc... That might help you make a better decision. Good Luck, we really need teachers and being a special ed teacher takes a special person with lots of patience. Hope this helps!

If you're not sure about teaching then I suggest you sub in a school district close to you. This will give you an idea if you really want to teach. The alternative certification programs do cost and you have to do a year teaching before you get your actual certification. I have found that several districts will not hire a teacher for that year. Check your program carefully. I haven't gone through this yet because I don't have to money and want to find a school district that will hire me for that year before I spend the money. Special Ed is a great area to go in.

I haven't used that particular program, but I wanted to let you know if you have a bachelor's degree already you can go back to school and get a second degree in education from somewhere like WGU (Western Governor's University) which is NCATE certified and has a special education major. My biggest irk with accelerated teacher certification is they ill prepare you for the actual classroom and often throw you into teaching and kind of let you sink or swim based on how much you really are comfortable doing it. Also it really depends on what you already have a degree in and whether you would want to teach that subject matter. Core knowledge for secondary teaching is really tough to pass so it has to be something you know well and are passionate about teaching. Since you mention special education, I would highly recommend that you look into some of the professional development through organizations like the National Association of Special Education Teachers. This is a challenging field that you have to stay on the edge of both how to teach and how to assess what a student is struggling with. You may want to find a local teacher in your area that teaches special education and just talk about what is expected. Often there is significantly more planning, more paperwork, more external meetings and disruptions (students leaving for speech therapy etc). So you have to be a certain type of person to be flexible, kind, nurturing, but firm and emotionally stable to allow students to learn how to learn, then to teach them core concepts. Good luck, it is a rewarding profession. -J. White

I am in ECAP this is great and easy certification you do have to take your test and pass it first to be accepted. Special Ed teachers are in high demand also. One other good way to definitely get your foot in the door and to see if this is something you really want to do is sub!!! I would recommend that while you study for your test if this is a decision you make and as far as cost because I know that's important. ECAP app fee is $50. The certification test is $120 and the summer fee for ECAP I believe is $450. Let me know if you have other questions!!