Education Career Services, Grove City College

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Alternative Certification Programs

Interested in teaching but you don't have an education degree? Check out these alternative certification programs:

♦PA Teacher Certification Program - Candidates who possess a minimum of a baccalaureate degree related to the area of desired certification may enroll in the Pennsylvania Teacher Intern Program. This link provides a list of the 37 state-approved programs and additional information.

♦National Center for Alternative Certification - supplies comprehensive information on alternative certification including state reciprocity. The ABCTE Program in Pennsylvania is administered through Point Park University. For a list of PDE- approved ABCTE Instructional I certificates, contact Point Park University or PDE. Coursework may be completed online or on-campus. Candidates must obtain their own 12-week full-time teaching placement.

♦Teach for America- one of the nation's most popular and competitive teacher preparation and placement programs, Teach for America, is particularly seeking high-achieving non-certified candidates who want to have an impact on low-income communities.
-Admissions Program Overview
-2012 Alumni Snapshot
-2012 Corps Profile
     GCC Alum Contact, Kim Walsh, walshkl1@gmail.com
PowerPoint from Teach for America Info Session—April 2012

♦New Teacher Project - the NTP partners with school districts in various states to create and administer programs that not only provide new teacher training, but also recommend new teachers for state certification.
     Philadelphia
          GCC Alum Contact, Barbara Nelson, barb.d.nelson@gmail.com
     Baltimore City
     Washington D.C.
     New York City
     Rhode Island
*Click here to check out other teaching fellows programs in major U.S. cities such as New York, Indianapolis, Chicago, etc.

♦MATCH Corps - The MATCH Corps is a one-year Urban Education fellowship program. The FAQ page is particularly helpful for an overview of MATCH.

♦Mississippi Teacher Corps - a competitive, alternate-route teaching program serving critical-shortage public school districts throughout Mississippi and culminating in a master's degree in education from the University of Mississippi
     GCC Alum Contact, Josh Smith, jbsmith02@gmail.com

♦TeachersCount, Pathways to Teaching - TeachersCount lists various 'pathways' to obtain teacher certification. This site also offers valuable information and resources for teachers.

♦Franco-American Teachers-in-Training Institute - This program (through the University of Akron) is for undergraduate senior-level or graduate students seeking teaching licensure in a variety of secondary education content areas. Participants should have prior French language study, with a proficiency level of at least “intermediate low.” Visit the link above or click here to view FATITI's flyer for more information.

♦Education Degree - This resource allows students to find alternative certification programs in every state across the country. Online programs are also featured.

♦Unique Careers in Education Expo - Explore unique opportunities to apply skills outside of the traditional classroom by reviewing employers who attended previous Unique Careers in Education Expo programs. Click the link above to view the 2011 and 2012 directories for a sample of employers.