Job Discussion Forums

[aspiringesl]

I hope some of you have the same problem I have been facing and could help lend me some answers!

Basically, I am a New York State resident and plan on going overseas as soon as I finish my Masters in TESOL. At the end of the program, I will be awarded an Initial Teachers Certification which lasts for five years, in which the dept of education states I must fulfill the requirements of teaching instate public schools for three years to get to the next certificate. The problem is I have no desire to teach in NY, instead I just want to get the cert to be a qualified teacher so I can get jobs overseas easier. How did you guys fare with this situation? Are there ways in which I can freeze the timeline of my certificate so I am still a valid teacher for over five years until I someday perhaps go back home?

Thank you!

[naturegirl321]

I would say you might get that waived if you work in an intl school. But you never know. have you called the Dept of Ed and asked if there's anything you can do?

[fladude]

It depends on what your certificate says.

Is it a true provisional certification? Or is it a permanent one, renewable every 5 years?

If it is permanent, then apply for a cert in another state with looser requirements, such as Florida or Georgia, or what not. To be re-certified in Florida, you just have to take 6 credit hours of classes in the subject which you are certified in every 5 years (or 3 and 3 if you have two certs). There is no requirement that you teach in state. Then you could take the classes online and maintain the license in the other state and let your NY cert expire.

Even if it is a provisional cert, you might still be able to turn that into a permanent certification in another state, if you meet the requirements there. I know that in Florida, you will have to take the FTCE exams (similar to Praxis). But that might be all that you have to do (and pay some money and have a background check).

Just an idea. I don't know if it will work for you or not because I don't know what kind of license you have or how other states will view it. Worst comes to worst, I'd advise getting a job in NY for 3 years whether you want to or not... a teaching license is a valuable commodity.

[Trebek]

All states are different. Just call the State office that deals with teaching license and ask them. Unless there is another New York certified teacher on Daves, I doubt you'll get an accurate answer. I wouldn't think going overseas will cost you your certification if steps are taken.

[timothypfox]

I just moved over to Japan and have a Professional Level licence from New York State.

To maintain this, you can log professional development hours online. What actually consitutes professional development may conceivably include any trainings you attend, workshops, courses, or even trainings at your school.

As for the Provisional Level license, I can't say for sure. But, I suspect it will simply just expire in 5 years and you will have to retest etc. if you do not do what is required to get the Professional Level license.

Any chance you can teach in the US until you've met the requirements and been awarded a Professional Level license and then go abroad to teach? Again call the DOE teachline to double check what is and is not possible... Your options... etc.

[kazachka]

I'm now in my 2nd renewal cycle since moving overseas. Whatever you do DO NOT EVER LET YOUR CERT LAPSE or it will be an incredible PITA to reinstate thanks to the new NCLB bee ess. I have an Alaska certificate and it needs to be renewed every 5 yrs. I have to take 6 semester hours 3 of which have to be upper division or grad level. They can be done overseas but then you have to go through the hassle of getting them evaluated by a foreign evaluation agency in the US of which there are only 7. I last took my recency credits on 2006 at Moscow State. I then had no trouble transferring them back through an agency in California. Now, this agency does not do evaluations of intensive programs or non degree study. After being rejected from 4 out of the other 7 agencies because they also do not evaluate non degree study I have now taken the feck it approach and will take my classes online via UA Fairbanks starting in the fall so I can pick up the books while in the US instead of having them shipped here snail mail. UAF gives you a year to do the class at your pace(no lost time from work etc) and I know it will 100% count for renewal. One eval agency in FL wanted 300$ for a 20 min phone consult to which I said the hell with thatI can take a course at UAF for 400$ and it will 100%count! I have previously transferred grad work classes from Moscow State in 98,2002, and 06 without issues. The agencies seem to have since got a bug up where the sun does not shine and it's really hard to get NODS or intensives evaluated. I typically cram those 6 sem hours into a 4 week intensive because I can't be bothered to drag things out for a whole semester. Middlebury College, where I did my MA in Russian crams 9 hours into 6 weeks so it is doable, these stupid agencies just don't want to bend their minds that far anymore. Personally, I think that as long as I'm in Russia just living here ought to count enough for these credits since RUSSIAN is one of my primary endorsements.
If you take any classes overseas make sure you can have it evaluated in the capacity you need for renewal or you are wasting time and $. See if you can do onlne classes from a US institution instead.
Timing-
Allow PLENTY of time. I start taking classes 2 yrs before my cert is up. It allows me to get them done and transferred back plus allows time for sending in the paperwork w/ the FBI fingerprint cards for renewal. My current cert is up in 2013 and I started looking into classes back in Feb before making my final decision to stick w/ UAF this time to be safe.

[kazachka]

[Trebek]