Teach-Now Completion and License Renewal

sonoflyte
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Dec 29, 2019 6:25 pm

Teach-Now Completion and License Renewal

Post by sonoflyte »

Hi everyone,

I know this topic has been discussed many times, and I did do some searching before posting, so please forgive me if I am asking something that has been covered. At my IS, the school is slowly pressuring all teachers to be certified. A large number of teachers have been doing Teach-Now and getting the DC license, which I know is quite popular now. I myself am in the process of completing the program and getting my DC license. My questions arise from the... "what next" elements.

Regarding Renewal:
1. Is DC still fairly lax about PD requirements for license renewal? I think I saw someone (Psyguy?) post that they are, but I wanted to double check that DC will accept school-run PD hours before asking my school to create certificates for the school's regular PD. I imagine most teachers here will do most of renewal PD hours in form of school-run PD and IB workshops.
2. If we want to avoid renewal issues, is QTS still possible? I know that QTS is popular, but I heard that the UK is clamping down on applications if the clinical hours were not done in the US, which potentially a problem for a lot of IT's.
3. If we want to avoid renewal issues, is California really difficult? It looks like there are a number of qualifications; how difficult is this?
4. If we want to avoid renewal issues, is NJ easier now? If I have a license from DC after having done Teach-Now, do I just wait for two years (to gain experience) and then apply?

Regarding Additional Endorsements:
5. If I took additional Praxis Content Exams to gain multiple subject endorsements in a DC license, how does this transfer to for each of the above renewal options? (QTS, California, NJ)
6. Particularly for NJ - My main licensing subject is 7-12 Comp Sci, which NJ does not have, but I will also try to obtain 1 or 2 other subject endorsements. Will this just flat out not transfer? :(

Thanks in advance for any time and effort put into responding to my complicated question! :D
Smoko
Posts: 36
Joined: Mon Dec 30, 2019 1:41 am

Re: Teach-Now Completion and License Renewal

Post by Smoko »

I can answer some of these related to the DC licence and QTS, but not the NJ and CA credentials.

1. I wouldn’t call it particularly lax, but I suppose it depends what you’re comparing it to. OSSE say that to renew you must have either 120 hours of PD, 8 college credits, or a combination of both. Half of this must be directly related to the content area of the credential being renewed. The PD providers must issue an official transcript, or if they don't issue transcripts then they must provide a certificate of completion with the following information on it:

• Must be on agency letterhead or bear the official seal/stamp of the training organization
• Name of training organization/provider;
• Title of training/activity for each session;
• Description or syllabus of the training/activity
• Dates of the training;
• Participant/attendee full name;
• Total number of clock hours of training delivered; and
• Bear an official signature or stamp of the official verifying completion of the training / activity and date signed.

Another potential option if you're abroad is to let your credential expire and lapse for 90 days, retake the Praxis subject and PLT exams for about $200, and then apply for it to be reinstated (not renewed). But check that your school is okay with this and that doing so won't give you any visa issues.

In terms of cheap online PD, these are the best prices I could find, but I would very much like to hear from others if they have other suggestions.

• University of the People M.Ed ($200 per 3 credits)
• Study.com College Accelerator ($200 per month/up to 6 credits per month)
• edWeb CE Certificates (Free webinars)


2. Applying for QTS worked for me, but I submitted ID from a country that isn’t the UK. I also wrote “DC Office of the State Superintendent of Education” instead of “Teach-Now” as my institution, and I uploaded my licence instead of the Teach-Now certificate.

5. QTS is not subject or age-range specific, so technically it wouldn’t make a difference to what you can legally teach in England. It is up to each individual school to determine if you are qualified to teach the subject you applied for. Personally, if I decide to change subject, I will probably just add an endorsement to the DC licence. Aside from doing another degree it seems the best option.
PsyGuy
Posts: 10789
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 9:51 am
Location: Northern Europe

Response

Post by PsyGuy »

In direct response to your inquiries:

1) No, DC isnt as lax as it used to be, so much so that they arent really laxed at all. For DC you either need to use the evaluation route which is only available to DC LEAs or the portfolio route which requires 120 PD hours. 60 of those hours must be directly related to the subject matter of the credential being renewed (though thats very general) and if renewing multiple credentials an additional 60 PD hours for each additional credential. Those hours must come from a mix of 4 sources
A) Uni course credits at a ration of 15 PD hours = 1 Credit/Unit.
B) PD provided by a DC LEA (not available generally to an IT)
C) PD training provided by a national professional/trade or education organization. This would include a DOE, IB, AP, union or a teaching or subject matter organization for the discipline.
D) Accredited and approved PD providers (of which there are very few applicable to ITs in IE).

For practical matters PD provided by an IS thats conducted by the ISs leadership generally isnt acceptable. Having your principal/HOS run of certificates of attendance or completion isnt going to work.

Reinstatement is definitely an option but its not so dramatic. You can retake the credential exams up to a year prior to the expiration and the credentials and then apply for reinstatement the day after expiration.

2) QTS isnt really possible anymore unless your willing to engage in subterfuge on your QTS application by identifying another EPP/ITT provider than Teach Now or you obtain/manufacture a letter of field experience in the US, or you transfer the DC credential elsewhere.

Your QTS profile contains fields for up to three subjects. While QTS isnt subject or grade specific its not a generalist all level credential. A UK DS would have major problems if they put a DT in a classroom they couldnt justify as qualified.

3) CA is easier than it was they did away with the advance preparation requirement. The main difficulty with CA is meeting the English learner authorization which would require you to essentially obtain an added endorsement from DC in ESOL. Otherwise it 2 years of appropriate and accredited experience and completing the PRAXIS core academic skills exams.

4) NJ is easier. Its 2 years recent experience, there is no basic skills or ESOL endorsement requirement. The DC PRAXIS exams will meet the NJ requirements. The difficulty is that NJ has become more selective in what experience they will accept. CA isnt any less selective except the teaching experience doesnt need to be recent.

5) For QTS it doesnt. The TCL/TRA wont except Teach Now without evidence of field work in the US. It will depend what endorsements you get from the state DOE you transfer too. If you finesse your application you can request the fields in your QTS dossier reflect whatever fields are on your DC credential.
Otherwise for both NJ and CA you generally get whatever endorsements match or are compatible between credentials.
NJ has more credentialing areas than CA, which (CA) has more composite teaching fields. CA aggregates a lot of fields. If your a DC drama/theater IT that will fall under "English" in CA which would produce marketability issues as a theater/drama IT. Likewise NJ has a number of consumer science fields whereas CA lumps them all under home economics. The biggest issue is in the field of SPED/SEN/LD, the NJ credential is no more difficult than any other credential (except youll have to qualify for an initial credential in something like elementary) first. In CA SPED/SEN/LD is an entirely different credential process and its much more difficult to obtain the CLEAR/Lvl.II credential since 'general' SPED is what most DTs/ITs receive and CA requires a specific category, which absence of means a Lvl.I credential that requires completion of a preliminary program (essentially another year EPP/ITT program) to transition to CLEAR/Lvl.II.

6) CA tends to be more forgiving. DC has a Comp Sci. credential neither CA nor NJ do, but CA will generally issue the Industrial and Technology Education credential (which authorizes comp.sci) but NJ will generally NOT issue the Technology Education credential (which doesnt authorize comp.sci unless the xHOS for the LEA says it does for their DSs).
CA will cost more as you do have to pay a fee every 5 years and single subject, multiple subject (elementary) career/technical and SPED/SEN/LD credentials are all separate credentials each one with a renewal fee.
sonoflyte
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Dec 29, 2019 6:25 pm

Re: Teach-Now Completion and License Renewal

Post by sonoflyte »

I just wanted to say a big thank you to Smoko and Psyguy; those are both very helpful responses!

Seems like NJ is the more likely candidate, although I still need two years of experience to apply. I guess I can try QTS and then wait two years and try NJ.

Thanks again for all the detailed responses!!!
PsyGuy
Posts: 10789
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 9:51 am
Location: Northern Europe

Reply

Post by PsyGuy »

@sonoflyte

If you want to get QTS now, and actually get it, then the easiest route is to take the DC credential once you have it and apply for the MS (Mississippi) 5 year (professional grade) credential. There is no experience requirement and your PRAXIS for DC will meet the requirements for MS. Then use the MS credential to apply for QTS.
sonoflyte
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Dec 29, 2019 6:25 pm

Re: Teach-Now Completion and License Renewal

Post by sonoflyte »

@Psyguy Why would the MS credential work for QTS where the DC credential would fail?
Smoko
Posts: 36
Joined: Mon Dec 30, 2019 1:41 am

Re: Teach-Now Completion and License Renewal

Post by Smoko »

sonoflyte wrote:
> @Psyguy Why would the MS credential work for QTS where the DC credential
> would fail?

I'm not Psyguy, but Teach-Now and the DC credential is on the Teaching Regulation Agency's radar. A lot of British people in my Teach-Now Facebook group have been asked for a letter from the school they did their teaching training at to confirm that it was completed in the US. If you didn't do it in the US then you get denied.

Something to bear in mind is that they don't specifically ask for your nationality on the application. Instead, they ask you to submit a passport or drivers licence. By applying with a drivers licence from the country I'm currently teaching in (not the UK) and listing 'DC Office of the State Superintendent of Education' instead of 'Teach-Now Graduate School of Education' I was granted QTS without any questions. However, I think the MS route sounds safer.
sonoflyte
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Dec 29, 2019 6:25 pm

Re: Teach-Now Completion and License Renewal

Post by sonoflyte »

@smoko Thanks for the response. The problem with MS for me is that they don't have Computer Science as an endorsement, while DC does. Also, NJ doesn't have it yet, but they look like they might in a year or two. Why did your other drivers license (non UK) matter? I have a US passport and drivers license that I was planning on using when applying to QTS, as well as ID for the country I am living in.
Smoko
Posts: 36
Joined: Mon Dec 30, 2019 1:41 am

Re: Teach-Now Completion and License Renewal

Post by Smoko »

sonoflyte wrote:
> @smoko Thanks for the response. The problem with MS for me is that they
> don't have Computer Science as an endorsement, while DC does. Also, NJ
> doesn't have it yet, but they look like they might in a year or two. Why
> did your other drivers license (non UK) matter? I have a US passport and
> drivers license that I was planning on using when applying to QTS, as well
> as ID for the country I am living in.

From what I can tell from the Teach-Now Facebook group and this forum, there seems to be a pattern of UK citizens being asked to provide evidence of where they did their teacher training. My guess is that this whole "mutual recognition" system was put in place to allow foreign trained teachers to teach in the UK, not as a substitute for UK teachers to qualify in the UK, so that's what they're on the look out for. Currently I think you would be fine if you applied with your US passport, but these rules are always subject to change without notice.
sonoflyte
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Dec 29, 2019 6:25 pm

Re: Teach-Now Completion and License Renewal

Post by sonoflyte »

@smoko Oh, so most of the people who have difficulties are people who submit applications with UK ID's? Because I heard the rumors going around that you get rejected if your school is not in the US, but the rumors I heard did not qualify this with "they only ask if you submit an application with a UK ID" or something to that effect.

Thanks again for all your input.
Smoko
Posts: 36
Joined: Mon Dec 30, 2019 1:41 am

Re: Teach-Now Completion and License Renewal

Post by Smoko »

sonoflyte wrote:
> @smoko Oh, so most of the people who have difficulties are people who
> submit applications with UK ID's? Because I heard the rumors going around
> that you get rejected if your school is not in the US, but the rumors I
> heard did not qualify this with "they only ask if you submit an
> application with a UK ID" or something to that effect.
>
> Thanks again for all your input.

From what I saw in the Facebook group I think it was only Brits affected at this time. I can tell you that I was awarded QTS in November 2019 without being asked for any additional info about where my school was based.
s0830887
Posts: 49
Joined: Thu Dec 17, 2015 4:46 am

Re: Teach-Now Completion and License Renewal

Post by s0830887 »

I’m American with the Teach Now/DC Credential and I was denied QTS for doing my fieldwork outside of the US. :-(
Smoko
Posts: 36
Joined: Mon Dec 30, 2019 1:41 am

Re: Teach-Now Completion and License Renewal

Post by Smoko »

s0830887 wrote:
> I’m American with the Teach Now/DC Credential and I was denied QTS for
> doing my fieldwork outside of the US. :-(

Interesting... Sorry to hear you got knocked back! This makes me suspect that it's specifically Teach-Now on the radar. Psyguy's Mississippi route is probably the safest for now.
PsyGuy
Posts: 10789
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 9:51 am
Location: Northern Europe

Reply

Post by PsyGuy »

@sonoflyte

Theres a lot of drama with the TCL/TRA regarding the DC credential and Teach Now. Ive written about it before extensively but in condensed form the in 2016 the adapted mutual reciprocity guidance allowed for OTTs from western regions to obtain QTS rather easily in an effort to increase the number of available DTs in England to address a growing number of critical shortages. This is what it was intended for but an unprepared consequence of it and a failure of understanding US credentialing resulted in the system being manipulated to allow UK DT candidates a very attractive mechanism of achieving full QTS in much less time, with much less student contact and primarily avoiding the pitfall of induction. In England when a DT completes their EPP/ITT program they get a partial form of QTS that makes them an NQT, they can do a lot ith this NQT QTS, but if they want to teach in a maintained DS (public and regulated DS) they have to complete a process their first year called induction. At the end of the year their head or lead DT rates them against the teaching standards if they pass then they get full QTS and now can work in a maintained DS without restrictions. If they dont pass, they are barred for life from teaching in a maintained DS. There are no second chances or redos, they get that one and only opportunity. They dont lose their QTS and they dont lose whatever certificate that marks the completion of their EPP/ITT program, but they cant teach in the public sector DSs in England. Thats a lot at stake, a lot of English ITs dont chance it, they just keep their NQT QTS status indefinitely. Teach Now and the DC credential bypasses induction. OTTs are exempt from induction requirements, they receive full QTS. It got to the point recently that a company as going to open an office in London and advertise and market just that to UK DT candidates. Now normally such an enterprise would backfire because these candidates still have to do field work and if you dont have cooperative DSs the program doent get off the ground, but England was/is so starved for DTs that the DSs were quietly in support of this enterprise, because it would grow the pool of available DTs and DSs didnt have to expend the resources in providing induction. There were of course a very strong group that were VERY not happy with it, chief among them were Unis because the PGCE is the most common and popular EPP/ITT route. So wrapping up, the TCL/TRA at the direction of the Dfe without having a lot of recourse said fix the problem, and the solution was in taking a very strict stance that the definition of trained in the US/CAN/AUS meant the whole program including field work had to have physically occurred in the US/CAN/AUS and not just by or though an entity. At first and very recently the TCL/TRA was concerned only with English citizens and residents but it as coming and it was known in the spring/summer of 2019 that it would be Teach Now in its entirety and as resources become available its going to be DC in general.

What happens is when your filling out the application it asks where you were trained and what authority issued the credential. If you enter Teach Now, you will get a request to provide a letter from the institution you did your field experience at, and that institution will need a location/address in the US. There are some legitimate ways around that for some ISs, but absent that you would have to execute some deception/subterfuge and select another EPP/ITT provider such as one of the local Unis. Going forward if you try this as a Brit you will be asked for a verification letter from the EPP/ITT (Uni) of program completion.

So why does the MS credential work, because the TCL/TRA doesnt, currently, have the resources to monitor and scrutinize all US applicants from all states and the priority, really what they care about is Brits. The whole of Teach Now and DC being an issue is because of discrimination, they dont really care about Americans and where they where when doing their field work, because the UK has other controls to immigration of Americans entering the DE field. They do care about a discrimination suite. MS doesnt issue credentials to non-citizens without sponsorship of an employing district/LEA.
Of the available options MS is the easiest.

MS has computer science its called "Computer Applications K-12, #111). Its available by EPP/ITT program only, which Teach Now satisfies.
s0830887
Posts: 49
Joined: Thu Dec 17, 2015 4:46 am

Re: Teach-Now Completion and License Renewal

Post by s0830887 »

PsyGuy wrote:
> Theres a lot of drama with the TCL/TRA regarding the DC credential and Teach Now.
> Ive written about it before extensively

...really? Because when I was denied QTS just about six months ago, I posted in this forum and you told me there was no possible way it was because of Teach Now. I copied and pasted the denial email I received that had the exact reason stated and you still told me I was wrong. You are so full of shit it's hilarious.
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