Get US K-12 Certification Online

Hi Everybody,

If you’ve ever considered getting certified to teach K-12 in the US or international schools, please read on.

You can now get K-12 teacher certification in 9 months entirely on-line through TEACH-NOW (teach-now.com). The TEACH-NOW program is licensed in Washington DC.

You can complete this program while living in Taiwan or any other country. This certification qualifies you to teach in DC, obviously, but it also qualifies you to teach in international schools around the world. TEACH-NOW is extremely competitively priced.

If you are teaching in Taiwan in any capacity or simply looking for a career change, this is an excellent opportunity. There is an ongoing need for qualified, certified teachers in the US, and International schools usually provide extremely good benefits including housing, airfare, and insurance, in addition to relatively high salaries and good working conditions. Getting certified also allows you to teach what you want, where you want.

Most US states have a reciprocal arrangement with DC allowing you to easily attain certification in another state once you have been certified in DC.

You do NOT have to be a US citizen to get certified in DC. If you are not a US citizen, please note that getting certified does not in itself allow you to live and work in the US, but you can still use this certification to teach internationally.

This certification is a full-fledged, Regular II license good for 4 years initially but renewable for life.

I have lived and worked in Taiwan for many years, and I will be happy to answer any questions you have about completing the TEACH-NOW program while living in Taiwan or another country. Please understand that this is a rigorous, intensive program. If you are looking for a means to essentially buy certification, this is not a good option for you. You will learn a lot, and you will emerge from the program fully prepared, and certified, to teach your subject area of choice in a K-12 environment.

TEACH-NOW has been reviewed and approved by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education in Washington, DC. You can see TEACH-NOW on the list of approved educator licensing programs at osse.dc.gov/.)

For more information, please visit the TEACH-NOW website at teach-now.com, or feel free to contact me at danr at teach-now.com. I am currently in Kaohsiung and will be for a few more months.

Thanks,
-Dan Roggenkamp

1 Like

Is there any student teaching involved?

Check VERY carefully. There is an enormous backlash against Teach for America just now, and while this is not the same program, it may be disallowed through confusion. DC is also not regarded as a leading state for education so check reciprocity carefully. If you have no actual teaching experience in a public school, student teaching is often required (and often unpaid).

Yes, there is a 12-week clinical segment which is primarily practice teaching. If you are currently teaching, there is a good possibility that you can use your job as your practice teaching. You would need to find a mentor to complete 9 observations (6 informal, 3 formal). We have a number of candidates in E. Asia completing the program while working in private schools, colleges, universities, and K-12. Yes, you can use your higher ed classroom for practice teaching.

Hmmm, I’m not sure where that came from, but, yes, indeed, check very carefully!

Yes, well, this is a slightly irresponsible overgeneralization. Indeed we are not Teach for America. I know nothing about that organization, and I am afraid I have no idea what you mean by ‘disallowed by confusion’. I was not aware that a mental state had such legal authorities and powers! But if you have any questions about our organization, please let me know and I will be happy to answer them the best I can.

The only state I know of that has very restrictive reciprocity requirements is California. California does not have a full reciprocal relationship with any state. But there may be others. It is easy enough to check state-by-state. Many states will require a test in areas such as state history, but I know of no state other than California that does not have some sort of reciprocal agreement with DC. There may be others.

Here is a list of state education agencies. You can start here to find state-by-state reciprocity requirements: wdcrobcolp01.ed.gov/Programs/ERO … ory_cd=SEA

I should point out, however, that some states do require US citizenship for teacher certification. Florida, for example, requires citizenship, as do some other states.

Yes, you will have to complete 12 weeks of student teaching. If you are already teaching in Taiwan, you can most likely use your current job for student teaching.

You don’t just get a certificate by means of one state saying “Yes, DC has a fine teaching credential”, wham bam rubber stamp. For New York, for example:

[quote=“The NY State Department of Education”]Endorsement of Certificate:
Possess a valid2, comparable3 , U.S. State or Territory certificate in the subject of the application
Have three years of certified teaching experience in that subject, within five years of the application date
Note: Experience must be completed in one U.S. State or Territory
Bachelor’s degree
2.5 cumulative GPA in a Bachelor’s or higher degree [major subject related to the certificate]
Satisfactory passing score on all required exams for Initial certificate sought
Fingerprint Clearance
Complete all required workshops[/quote]

This may be a fine pathway to get a paper credential to qualify to teach in an international school, but anyone wishing to take it back to the States and get a teaching job needs to do further research about the specific requirements for the State in which you want to teach.

I’m not even going to get started on the difference between “through” and “by” confusion. When you can read and comprehend what I said, you will see that no one is criticizing your program. However, as I am in the States and involved in teacher credentialing, I am familiar with the many reasons various programs are turned down cold. Anything that is less than a full undergraduate program in teaching is not something New York is likely to look favorably upon anymore – there is no longer a career changer pathway to certification, which I personally feel is a tragedy.

[quote=“ironlady”]You don’t just get a certificate by means of one state saying “Yes, DC has a fine teaching credential”, wham bam rubber stamp. For New York, for example:

[quote=“The NY State Department of Education”]Endorsement of Certificate:
Possess a valid2, comparable3 , U.S. State or Territory certificate in the subject of the application
Have three years of certified teaching experience in that subject, within five years of the application date
Note: Experience must be completed in one U.S. State or Territory
Bachelor’s degree
2.5 cumulative GPA in a Bachelor’s or higher degree [major subject related to the certificate]
Satisfactory passing score on all required exams for Initial certificate sought
Fingerprint Clearance
Complete all required workshops[/quote]

This may be a fine pathway to get a paper credential to qualify to teach in an international school, but anyone wishing to take it back to the States and get a teaching job needs to do further research about the specific requirements for the State in which you want to teach.

I’m not even going to get started on the difference between “through” and “by” confusion. When you can read and comprehend what I said, you will see that no one is criticizing your program. However, as I am in the States and involved in teacher credentialing, I am familiar with the many reasons various programs are turned down cold. Anything that is less than a full undergraduate program in teaching is not something New York is likely to look favorably upon anymore – there is no longer a career changer pathway to certification, which I personally feel is a tragedy.[/quote]

My apologies if my attempt at humor missed its mark.

I see nothing in the NY requirements you posted that would preclude using a DC certificate for reciprocal licensure. Reciprocity is rarely, if ever, without conditions. But California is the only state I know of that requires everyone to complete an actual teacher training program through a California-based organization.

On this I agree with you 100%. It is a fine way to get certified and interested people should indeed do further research. If you are considering completing the Teach-Now program with an eye towards getting a reciprocal license in another state, then by all means do your research.

What is the Taiwan MOE’s stance on this program? My understanding is that they aren’t a big fan of online degrees, and seldom, if ever, recognize them. For Taiwan residents, the MOE could obviously tell that they were residing in Taiwan while they were taking the program, and therefore, that the degree was obtained online. It would be a shame to take the whole program and spend all that time and money and then the MOE decides not to recognize it anymore since it’s an online program.

This is not an online degree, it’s a Washington DC approved teacher preparation program. Teach-Now provides the core requirement for DC teacher certification. There are other requirements, including testing, background checks, and original transcripts. The Teach-Now program meets the state-approved teacher preparation program requirement for a Regular II, 4-year, renewable license. You can find all the requirements for this license at osse.dc.gov/service/teacher-licensure.

Please note that Teach-Now does not award teaching certificates; we are the teacher preparation program. Certificates are awarded directly by OSSE, the DC education agency. Once you have completed our program, Teach-Now will collate and submit all of your certificate application materials to OSSE. No programs, schools, or universities award State teaching certificates. That is done by State agencies.

Getting certified is not a walk in the park regardless of where you reside, but until recently it was virtually impossible to get certified without spending a significant amount of time in the US.

But to get back to your question, again, this is not a degree program. In fact you need to already have a Bachelor’s degree with at least an overall 3.0 GPA to be admitted to the Teach-Now program.

The only situation I can imagine in Taiwan that would call for an MOE review of your US teaching certificate would be if you wanted to get certified in Taiwan. Seeing as there is a severe teacher glut (or should I say student shortage) in the Taiwan K-12 system, I’m not sure what the point of that would be. The MOE has no role that I am aware of in validating US teaching certificates for teachers applying to accredited (WASC, or other) international schools.

Please let me know if you have more questions. And don’t hesitate to Email me at danr at teach-now.com if I don’t respond promptly on this forum.

It doesn’t really matter if you did your training online to get a teacher’s license. The MOE will just see that you have a license from “X” state, province, terrirotory, etc. and that’s all they really care about. As long as your original degree is from a brick and mortar uni, then you’re fine. Because they look at that and the paper you have from the state, provincial, whatever government. However, I see that there is a master’s degree program offered through this. If that is done all online, then the MOE might not accept it.

To the OP I ask, what institution issues the masters degree offered on the Teach Now program? Is that all done online? If so, there is the possibility it could not be accepted in Taiwan, at least as a degree. You’d still get the license from DC and could use your original undergrad degree to get a job, but that would totally defeat the purpose of spending all that time and money on the masters degree.

It doesn’t really matter if you did your training online to get a teacher’s license. The MOE will just see that you have a license from “X” state, province, terrirotory, etc. and that’s all they really care about. As long as your original degree is from a brick and mortar uni, then you’re fine. Because they look at that and the paper you have from the state, provincial, whatever government. However, I see that there is a master’s degree program offered through this. If that is done all online, then the MOE might not accept it.

To the OP I ask, what institution issues the masters degree offered on the Teach Now program? Is that all done online? If so, there is the possibility it could not be accepted in Taiwan, at least as a degree. You’d still get the license from DC and could use your original undergrad degree to get a job, but that would totally defeat the purpose of spending all that time and money on the masters degree.[/quote]

The MA is offered through University of the Pacific in California (pacific.edu/). The Teach-Now/UOP program results in an MA in Curriculum and Instruction, and a California State teaching certificate. That’s a great combination.

I didn’t mention the Teach-Now/UOP MA program in my initial posting because my understanding is that the California Dept. of Education recently enacted a change to its student teaching policy and now requires that all student teaching be done in California.

Because candidates in the Teach-Now/UOP MA program must complete their student teaching in California, the issue of this being an online degree is irrelevant for those of us in Taiwan, unless of course you start the MA here online then return to California to complete student teaching, which is certainly possible. But regardless, this isn’t really an issue because this degree is really tailored to prepare people to work in a US accredited school or district, either in the US or abroad. To go through this excellent, advanced program and use it for something that would require Taiwan MOE approval would be a waste of time and money. This Teach-Now/UOP certificate/MA program would qualify you for jobs in the US or international schools that are well beyond what is normally available to expats in Taiwan.

So, to be clear for those who are joining this discussion here, we do have two programs, a certificate program that can be completed entirely in Taiwan and which leads to Washington, DC teacher certification, and a joint MA program with UOP that leads to an MA plus California teacher certification.

Didn’t say it was. But requiring several years of professional teaching experience in ONE State (not just “in the US”) is a bit more than “paperwork”, isn’t it?

I realize you’re promoting your program (or a program you work for in some capacity, most likely). That’s fine. But let’s not overstate the benefits of the program in terms of getting licensed to teach in a US state. That is quite often a big consideration for those who are coming back, and I don’t know many people who would be interested in teaching in DC for several years to get licensure in another state.

Didn’t say it was. But requiring several years of professional teaching experience in ONE State (not just “in the US”) is a bit more than “paperwork”, isn’t it?

I realize you’re promoting your program (or a program you work for in some capacity, most likely). That’s fine. But let’s not overstate the benefits of the program in terms of getting licensed to teach in a US state. That is quite often a big consideration for those who are coming back, and I don’t know many people who would be interested in teaching in DC for several years to get licensure in another state.[/quote]

Fair enough, but you’re just referring to New York. There are states that are extremely easy to get reciprocally licensed in, such as Hawaii. Many states do require little more than filling out some forms. Take Arizona, for example: azed.gov/educator-certificat … tificates/ (basically just paperwork).

So let’s put this in context. If somebody in Taiwan really wants to move to New York and teach, but they’re not certified, they could complete our program, go to Hawaii and teach for 3 years (or any number of other states), then move on to New York. Oh, wait, actually, you can go teach in Hawaii immediately once you are enrolled in a teacher training program in any state (mere enrollemnt allows you to teach in Hawaii), which means you could enroll in our program and go to Hawaii immediately and start teaching (just brainstorming here, of course), then do three years of certified teaching, then move on to New York, if you still want to at that point of course. Sorry, I like to look at possibilities and ways around situations we percieve as keeping us from moving forward.

So, yes, if you are interested in reciprocity, please just look up your state of interest. Absolutely do your homework.

Most states will require an additional background check and maybe a test of one sort or another (which is paperwork), and some states require TB tests, but in general, getting a reciprocal license is more often than not very easy relative to getting your initial DC license. NY is one state, and is not representative of all states.

If I understand correctly, and perhaps I don’t, this program is similar to a B.Ed program. In a B.Ed program, you complete the program and then you apply for certification in the jurisdiction where you took your B.Ed. The certificate itself isn’t online or in person; it’s just a certificate that they send you in the mail. The the difference between this program and a normal B.Ed program is that this program is online, and since the MOE generally rejects online programs, it seems possible that the MOE could theoretically reject this K-12 certification since the program taken to obtain was online. Do you know anyone, without an independent ARC, who has got a job in a Taiwanese K-12 school using this online certification?

Good question, but no, this is not the same as a B. Ed. This program requires that you already have a Bachelor’s degree with at least a 3.0 GPA. This is a teacher preparation program, and you can complete it in 9 months. So, for example, if you have a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and after five years of working at The Globe you’ve decided you want to be an English teacher, you could take our program and get certified to teach secondary English.

The traditional way for our journalist friend to get his teaching certificate is for them to enroll in a local teacher education program, usually in a local college or university. Such programs last anywhere from one to two years.

I don’t know anyone in Taiwan who has completed the program other than myself. Yes, the certificate is mailed to you.

So, if teaching in the Taiwan K-12 system is your goal, I don’t see why this wouldn’t work because you would have to already have a Bachelor’s. Taiwan does have that program (sorry, can’t remember the name) in which they hire foreign, certified English teachers to teach in remote schools. I do not know if that program is still running.

Now that you have your certificate through this program, what kind of school are you teaching at? Did the MOE accept your qualification?

If you already have a BS or BA degree from a traditional (not online) school, I can’t see where the MOE would even know where you took your certification courses. You don’t have to submit a transcript supporting your certification, only your degree. Just don’t make any injudicious comments in front of somebody in the office (just in case), but I can’t see where they would even know, unless of course you’ve been in Taiwan for the past ten years and suddenly you show up with a teaching certificate from DC. Even then, I’m not positive anyone would put it all together. :ponder:

Now that you have your certificate through this program, what kind of school are you teaching at? Did the MOE accept your qualification?[/quote]

I have been teaching in universities here in Taiwan for years. I had taught in a high school in the US some 14 years ago, and at the time wanted to get certified, but ended up coming back to Taiwan and having no way to do so. So I had wanted to get K-12 certification for some time. I also have a background in educational technology, so the technical aspects of the program held particular interest for me.

I plan on teaching in the US when I head back in a few months. I haven’t decided yet what state to aim for, though I have a short list and have looked into the reciprocal requirements. I’m interested in online teaching, and online K-12 education is booming, but I’m also interested in alternative education and education for students at risk, and I’m interested in teacher training and tech support. There are really many ways to apply certification. I have friends in CA who choose to simply sub, and they love it. Certification is also required for many non-teaching jobs and support jobs. And there are always international schools, but I’m drawn more to the US scene at present for some reason. There seems to be a lot happening in K-12 in the US.

I have had no reason to try to use my certificate here in Taiwan, but I can’t imagine why the Taiwan MOE wouldn’t accept it. I have met people who were brought over by the MOE to teach in remote K-12 schools on 2-year contracts, and they seemed to like it.

If the certificate says 2015, and the person in question was living in Taiwan for all of 2014, the MOE would know, or at least suspect, that the program that led to certification was taken online. Since they have a history of your past and current residency, I think it’s likely that they could put two and two together and figure out that something strange is going on. After all, you can’t be in two places at once. I’m not sure what the MOE’s position on that would be, but if I were taking that course, it would be a concern. Plus, it’s hard to say how the recruiters would react. They handle most public school hiring, and if you were living and working in Taiwan while you were taking the pre-certification course, they will see that on your resume, and they will know that the program that led to certification was taken online. Since they’re a business, they might not care. But that’s a big might.

If the certificate says 2015, and the person in question was living in Taiwan for all of 2014, the MOE would know, or at least suspect, that the program that led to certification was taken online. Since they have a history of your past and current residency, I think it’s likely that they could put two and two together and figure out that something strange is going on. After all, you can’t be in two places at once. I’m not sure what the MOE’s position on that would be, but if I were taking that course, it would be a concern. Plus, it’s hard to say how the recruiters would react. They handle most public school hiring, and if you were living and working in Taiwan while you were taking the pre-certification course, they will see that on your resume, and they will know that the program that led to certification was taken online. Since they’re a business, they might not care. But that’s a big might.[/quote]
I tend to agree with Ironlady, but of course there is no way I can be sure the MOE would accept a teaching certificate acquired via an on-line program. But the only way they would know that would be if you put that program on your resume. The program you complete is not part of your actual certificate.

As an anecdote, I did get an online MA degree validated by the MOE. I’m not going to say where it was from so as not to jinx others going through the same program, but let’s just say it was from a highly regarded state university on the west coast. The reason it was validated was because the degree and diploma are exactly the same as the on-campus degree and diploma. They are identical in every way. In fact, I could have moved to this state midway in my program and just started going to classes. In fact we had synchronous classes sometimes that included both the virtual and F2F students. We’d see each other on various screens and communicate with the usual tools.

So it’s possible to get on-line degrees validated, but if pressed, and your life depended on MOE approval (a scary thought), I’d say you’d be better of going back to the US for 1-2 years and getting your certificate the old fashioned way.