@agreed2
First, I didnt know where you were, and the MTEL isnt as widely available OS as the PRAXIS. Second, tthere are some MA credentials that have additional requirements unique to some of the specific subject credentials, and they may have required travel to accomplish.
Is Teach-now or Teacher Ready worth the time or money?
Re: Is Teach-now or Teacher Ready worth the time or money?
@PsyGuy or anyone else
1) I don't live in the US but I'm a US citizen with a Bachelor in Math+Econ. If I step off the plane tomorrow, how long would it take me to get the Utah license from start to finish? And what does the renewal process entail, is it easy to do when you live abroad? I've tried googling but I can't figure out what you meant by the process requiring a CRB.
2) I've read that they're making some changes to the Massachusetts license. The changes seem to imply this will no longer be a valid option for international teachers who get their license after July 1, is that correct? On their website under provisional license it says: "Valid for five years of employment; however, starting on July 1, 2019, an educator who holds one or more provisional licenses may be employed under said license(s) for no more than five years in total."
3) Besides the TeachNow and TeacherReady programs, there's also a year-long Global Program from The College of New Jersey that you finish with a Master's in Education and an NJ teaching license that you never need to renew. I don't entirely understand this program, but from what I can tell it seems to cost around $12000 (whereas the two programs in the thread are around $6000) and you have to do it in-person not online. Could the extra benefits possibly be worth the much higher cost?
4) Besides UT and MA, I've also heard Arizona and Washington being talked about as easy states to get licensed from. Any comments on those, or they're not really good ideas for prospective international teachers?
1) I don't live in the US but I'm a US citizen with a Bachelor in Math+Econ. If I step off the plane tomorrow, how long would it take me to get the Utah license from start to finish? And what does the renewal process entail, is it easy to do when you live abroad? I've tried googling but I can't figure out what you meant by the process requiring a CRB.
2) I've read that they're making some changes to the Massachusetts license. The changes seem to imply this will no longer be a valid option for international teachers who get their license after July 1, is that correct? On their website under provisional license it says: "Valid for five years of employment; however, starting on July 1, 2019, an educator who holds one or more provisional licenses may be employed under said license(s) for no more than five years in total."
3) Besides the TeachNow and TeacherReady programs, there's also a year-long Global Program from The College of New Jersey that you finish with a Master's in Education and an NJ teaching license that you never need to renew. I don't entirely understand this program, but from what I can tell it seems to cost around $12000 (whereas the two programs in the thread are around $6000) and you have to do it in-person not online. Could the extra benefits possibly be worth the much higher cost?
4) Besides UT and MA, I've also heard Arizona and Washington being talked about as easy states to get licensed from. Any comments on those, or they're not really good ideas for prospective international teachers?
Reply
@Malarazz
1) A half day for the fingerprints, a half day for the application, documentation completion and mailing. A day (though a short day for the PRAXIS exam). The longest parts are mailing posting times, particularly to get the fingerprint cards, mail them back, have them scanned. the processing time differs depending on the time of year you apply, low demand times 2 weeks for processing or less. End of year times a month too 6 weeks, maybe longer.
UT uses the PRAXIS which is available globally, theres likely a testing center in the country of the capital city you are in, and probably other large city locations or cities nearby.
Renewal is difficult, you would effectively be an inactive educator, you would need 100 renewal points. There are various ways of obtaining them but many of them are only available for active UT DTs or through agencies and organizations available and approved for only in UT. A Uni course will get you 18pts/credit so a typical 3 credit course would get you 36pts, You would need 3 such courses to renew. You could retake your PRAXIS exam, thats worth 25pts. You could do some alternative projects but the limit is 25pts, You could publish some research the limit is 35pts. Otherwise you would need to do mostly workshops and other external third . training, the maximum per event is 25pts (an IB workshop at 17 contact hours would be equal to 17pts).
You have to get it all done in 3 years, since its a three year credential. Its possible to do, but it would be a lot of work.
CRB = Criminal Records Bureau, a precursor term refereed to a criminal records and background check before it became DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service), its now a generic term used to indicate a criminal background review. UT requires a fingerprint based CRB review prior to issuance of a license.
2) The changes will not impact ITs or IE at all. MA only considers "employment' to be that employment in a MA public/regulated DS. Not teaching or being employed in MA means tat none of the 5 year time of the credentials validity passes, it 'stops the clock', thus if you remain in IE your MA credential under current regulations and rules will effectively be a lifetime credential.
The rule change is intended to close a loophole for those MA DTs who would get one credential in a field teach it for 5 years and then get another credential in another field and then teach that for 5 years and so on. A science teacher could start in physics teach that for 5 years, than add chemistry then teach that for 5 years, then biology, then general science, etc. The rule change is meant to limit the 'total' time under any combination of credentials to no more than 5 years in aggregate.
3) TCNJ is an option but a really pricey and expensive one. Its far more than USD$12K, closer to USD$25K. There are 11 courses in the credentialing and Masters program 10 of them are USD$2K/each and one that is USD$3K, plus you have PRAXIS costs, and other fees, makes the program about USD$25K. Thast just tuition, these are F2F programs so your going to have travel, and living costs associated with them. For the one year programs in Asia you could maybe do it for USD$15K for the year, but combined your looking at USD$40K for the program.
There isnt any benefit or advantage outside of possibly some networking opportunities.
4) Teacher Ready is a skills based credentialing pathway from Florida, and Teach Now is a skills based credentialing pathway from DC. These programs are online, part time, and cost about USD$6K.
1) A half day for the fingerprints, a half day for the application, documentation completion and mailing. A day (though a short day for the PRAXIS exam). The longest parts are mailing posting times, particularly to get the fingerprint cards, mail them back, have them scanned. the processing time differs depending on the time of year you apply, low demand times 2 weeks for processing or less. End of year times a month too 6 weeks, maybe longer.
UT uses the PRAXIS which is available globally, theres likely a testing center in the country of the capital city you are in, and probably other large city locations or cities nearby.
Renewal is difficult, you would effectively be an inactive educator, you would need 100 renewal points. There are various ways of obtaining them but many of them are only available for active UT DTs or through agencies and organizations available and approved for only in UT. A Uni course will get you 18pts/credit so a typical 3 credit course would get you 36pts, You would need 3 such courses to renew. You could retake your PRAXIS exam, thats worth 25pts. You could do some alternative projects but the limit is 25pts, You could publish some research the limit is 35pts. Otherwise you would need to do mostly workshops and other external third . training, the maximum per event is 25pts (an IB workshop at 17 contact hours would be equal to 17pts).
You have to get it all done in 3 years, since its a three year credential. Its possible to do, but it would be a lot of work.
CRB = Criminal Records Bureau, a precursor term refereed to a criminal records and background check before it became DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service), its now a generic term used to indicate a criminal background review. UT requires a fingerprint based CRB review prior to issuance of a license.
2) The changes will not impact ITs or IE at all. MA only considers "employment' to be that employment in a MA public/regulated DS. Not teaching or being employed in MA means tat none of the 5 year time of the credentials validity passes, it 'stops the clock', thus if you remain in IE your MA credential under current regulations and rules will effectively be a lifetime credential.
The rule change is intended to close a loophole for those MA DTs who would get one credential in a field teach it for 5 years and then get another credential in another field and then teach that for 5 years and so on. A science teacher could start in physics teach that for 5 years, than add chemistry then teach that for 5 years, then biology, then general science, etc. The rule change is meant to limit the 'total' time under any combination of credentials to no more than 5 years in aggregate.
3) TCNJ is an option but a really pricey and expensive one. Its far more than USD$12K, closer to USD$25K. There are 11 courses in the credentialing and Masters program 10 of them are USD$2K/each and one that is USD$3K, plus you have PRAXIS costs, and other fees, makes the program about USD$25K. Thast just tuition, these are F2F programs so your going to have travel, and living costs associated with them. For the one year programs in Asia you could maybe do it for USD$15K for the year, but combined your looking at USD$40K for the program.
There isnt any benefit or advantage outside of possibly some networking opportunities.
4) Teacher Ready is a skills based credentialing pathway from Florida, and Teach Now is a skills based credentialing pathway from DC. These programs are online, part time, and cost about USD$6K.
Re: Is Teach-now or Teacher Ready worth the time or money?
Thank you for the answer!! That was incredibly helpful.
Looks like MA is the way to go for me then. I'm sure international schools discriminate against MA provisionals, since they know it's such an easy license that doesn't require renewal? But hopefully after a few years of international school experience they will start to overlook that.
Doesn't matter, still seems like the way to go. I can always do TeachNow or TeacherReady in a few years if getting a "real" certificate turns out to be important. But for the time being, studying for the MA exams in June-July and applying for low/mid-tier international schools in September-November as a Math teacher seems like a good plan. Better than my original plan of getting a CELTA and doing TEFL anyway.
Thanks!
Looks like MA is the way to go for me then. I'm sure international schools discriminate against MA provisionals, since they know it's such an easy license that doesn't require renewal? But hopefully after a few years of international school experience they will start to overlook that.
Doesn't matter, still seems like the way to go. I can always do TeachNow or TeacherReady in a few years if getting a "real" certificate turns out to be important. But for the time being, studying for the MA exams in June-July and applying for low/mid-tier international schools in September-November as a Math teacher seems like a good plan. Better than my original plan of getting a CELTA and doing TEFL anyway.
Thanks!
Reply
@Malarazz
They dont care, credentialing is more a 'legal' DT/IT issue. What they care about is your preparation and training, if your resume is just a big question mark about how you got into edu, than they are going to assume that absent some program or degree or Uni entry that you didnt do a lot to get your credential. Thats a concern for an early career IT/DT, less so as the IT gains experience.
The rule is no amount of training equals any amount of experience, and after several years what your experience and performance is all that matters.
Well its cheaper, and you can do ESOL through MA as a credentialing subject, and a lot cheaper than a CELTA/DELTA. ESOL though isnt all bad, you can always find a job in ESOL, you will never be without work if you dont want too, compared to IE which moves in recruiting cycles. IE pays better if you just look at the coin and not the contact or instructional hours, but IE comp escalates sooner and faster than ESOL, but IE plateaus sooner, and the barrier to leadership is much more difficult to break into in IE. There are a number of other factors and issues as well.
They dont care, credentialing is more a 'legal' DT/IT issue. What they care about is your preparation and training, if your resume is just a big question mark about how you got into edu, than they are going to assume that absent some program or degree or Uni entry that you didnt do a lot to get your credential. Thats a concern for an early career IT/DT, less so as the IT gains experience.
The rule is no amount of training equals any amount of experience, and after several years what your experience and performance is all that matters.
Well its cheaper, and you can do ESOL through MA as a credentialing subject, and a lot cheaper than a CELTA/DELTA. ESOL though isnt all bad, you can always find a job in ESOL, you will never be without work if you dont want too, compared to IE which moves in recruiting cycles. IE pays better if you just look at the coin and not the contact or instructional hours, but IE comp escalates sooner and faster than ESOL, but IE plateaus sooner, and the barrier to leadership is much more difficult to break into in IE. There are a number of other factors and issues as well.
Re: Is Teach-now or Teacher Ready worth the time or money?
I did Teach Now and I highly recommend it. I seriously considered provisional licensing options like UT and MA, but in the end decided that paying extra to get a full 4-year renewable license was worth it, and it was. I also got a surprisingly rigorous education for an online program, and had a great mentor during student teaching. Absolutely worth the time and money in terms of education and future options (I've had three job offers abroad), especially if you are someone like me who needs external structure when studying (vs. the self-paced Teacher Ready). Also their payment plan is excellent and doesn't include any interest.
Re: Is Teach-now or Teacher Ready worth the time or money?
Teach-Now, for me, served its purpose. I got introduced to the world of international education while doing my practicum ("clinical") which, despite what I had thought, is very different to TEFL. Shortly after earning my license, I went to work at a bottom-tier intl school (it was awful, but you've gotta pay your dues!). I then moved to a tier-3, and now (4 years after I completed the program) I am headed to a tier-2 next year. So is TN worth it? Hmm... In the short time since I've completed the program, which cost $6,000 for tuition + costs of testing, paperwork, etc (+$1,500?), I've received nearly a $200,000 return on investment considering salary, benefits, and tuition for my kids. Yeah, it's worth it!
Re: Is Teach-now or Teacher Ready worth the time or money?
Per the advice here I got to Utah License... FYI to anybody looking back on this they've now ended the program. So it's no longer an option.
Re: Is Teach-now or Teacher Ready worth the time or money?
PsyGuy wrote:
> The previous program (APT) as finally discontinued November 2019. There will be a
> less IT friendly replacement program in February 2020.
For those teachers currently teaching in IE with the Utah APT, what is the best option for transferring the license, for more long-term stability?
From reading other posts/threads, I have gathered that transfer to HI Standard License seems most plausible... followed by a further shift later on to the NJ license (for longest term stability)??? This would also then enable QTS (if pursued), if I am not mistaken?
The current renewal of the Utah APT for out of state teachers has gotten a bit more burdensome as well. I'll be happy to shift out of that in the next few years.
> The previous program (APT) as finally discontinued November 2019. There will be a
> less IT friendly replacement program in February 2020.
For those teachers currently teaching in IE with the Utah APT, what is the best option for transferring the license, for more long-term stability?
From reading other posts/threads, I have gathered that transfer to HI Standard License seems most plausible... followed by a further shift later on to the NJ license (for longest term stability)??? This would also then enable QTS (if pursued), if I am not mistaken?
The current renewal of the Utah APT for out of state teachers has gotten a bit more burdensome as well. I'll be happy to shift out of that in the next few years.
Reply
@Seawaves
How do you define best option? The easiest is to forgo transfer entirely and apply for the MA provisional credential, you will need to take the MA exams (MTEL) but the entry grade credential (same grade as the APT level 1 credential) would effectively be a lifetime credential and wouldnt require any PD for renewal.
HI is possible to transfer too but you will be looking at a coin flip whether they issue the HI standard credential or not. NJ is also possible after that but CA would also be an option prior to NJ and while CA doesnt offer a lifetime credential, the CA CLEAR credential can be renewed every 5 years without PD. Once you have the HI, CA, or the NJ credential you can use those to get QTS.
Renewing the UT credential is rather burdensome.
How do you define best option? The easiest is to forgo transfer entirely and apply for the MA provisional credential, you will need to take the MA exams (MTEL) but the entry grade credential (same grade as the APT level 1 credential) would effectively be a lifetime credential and wouldnt require any PD for renewal.
HI is possible to transfer too but you will be looking at a coin flip whether they issue the HI standard credential or not. NJ is also possible after that but CA would also be an option prior to NJ and while CA doesnt offer a lifetime credential, the CA CLEAR credential can be renewed every 5 years without PD. Once you have the HI, CA, or the NJ credential you can use those to get QTS.
Renewing the UT credential is rather burdensome.
-
svennorske
- Posts: 4
- Joined: Tue Feb 20, 2018 10:18 am
Re: Is Teach-now or Teacher Ready worth the time or money?
agreed2 wrote:
> @psyguy thank you so much for your detailed response! I am more drawn to
> the structure of the Massachusetts certification exams so I've decided to
> go that route. You mentioned in you comment the MA cert. requires travel?
> How so? I've contacted my local Pearson VUE testing center and they said
> that they offer the exam.
http://www.doe.mass.edu/licensure/acade ... types.html
The site tates the MA 'Provisional License' cannot be extended or renewed, and is only valid for 5 years. The next tier up is 'Initial License', and for this you would need to complete a MA approved EPP program. If the plan is to teach for more than 5 years, not sure how this could be accomplished internationally
> @psyguy thank you so much for your detailed response! I am more drawn to
> the structure of the Massachusetts certification exams so I've decided to
> go that route. You mentioned in you comment the MA cert. requires travel?
> How so? I've contacted my local Pearson VUE testing center and they said
> that they offer the exam.
http://www.doe.mass.edu/licensure/acade ... types.html
The site tates the MA 'Provisional License' cannot be extended or renewed, and is only valid for 5 years. The next tier up is 'Initial License', and for this you would need to complete a MA approved EPP program. If the plan is to teach for more than 5 years, not sure how this could be accomplished internationally
Reply
@svennorske
You did not read further. The credential validity is valid for five years of EMPLOYMENT:
"Provisional License Validity:Valid for five years of employment..."
http://www.doe.mass.edu/licensure/acade ... ry-license
MA defines employment as that in a MA regulated (public/maintained) DS, as such working in IE outside of MA doesnt count against that time, effectively making the credential a lifetime credential:
"How do I know if my Preliminary or Initial license is still valid for employment?
Both Preliminary and Initial licenses are valid for five years of employment in a Massachusetts school that requires licensure by law. Your license will no longer be valid for employment once you have been employed full-time for five years in the role (field and grade level) of the license, in a Massachusetts school that requires licensure by law.
IF YOU STOP WORKING WITHIN A MASSACHUSETTS SCHOOL THAT REQUIRES THAT AN EDUCATOR HOLD THE APPROPRIATE LICENSE FOR TH ROLE THAT THEY ARE EMPLOYED IN, THE CLOCK STOPS TICKING."
http://www.doe.mass.edu/licensure/faq-g ... yment.html
You did not read further. The credential validity is valid for five years of EMPLOYMENT:
"Provisional License Validity:Valid for five years of employment..."
http://www.doe.mass.edu/licensure/acade ... ry-license
MA defines employment as that in a MA regulated (public/maintained) DS, as such working in IE outside of MA doesnt count against that time, effectively making the credential a lifetime credential:
"How do I know if my Preliminary or Initial license is still valid for employment?
Both Preliminary and Initial licenses are valid for five years of employment in a Massachusetts school that requires licensure by law. Your license will no longer be valid for employment once you have been employed full-time for five years in the role (field and grade level) of the license, in a Massachusetts school that requires licensure by law.
IF YOU STOP WORKING WITHIN A MASSACHUSETTS SCHOOL THAT REQUIRES THAT AN EDUCATOR HOLD THE APPROPRIATE LICENSE FOR TH ROLE THAT THEY ARE EMPLOYED IN, THE CLOCK STOPS TICKING."
http://www.doe.mass.edu/licensure/faq-g ... yment.html