Teaching in Texas

[StillThePrettiest 3]

hi all,

haven't arrived yet - probably won't for at least six months - but have been trying to do my research for when I marry my fiancé and settle with him in the suburbs of Houston... I have twelve years of teaching experience, in both primary and secondary, but have been working out of the field for just over a year (I have two part-time jobs: one's in education for a charity, and the other is building management)

I'm pretty open to whatever employment seems to present itself once I get there, but it seems to make sense to prepare to go back to the field in which I have most experience and expertise (specially as I've read there'll be a teacher shortage across Texas next year)

I have a Bachelor of Arts (majors English Lit and German) from the University of Sydney, and a Diploma of Education from the same place... have taught ten years in Australia and two in the UK; can teach English Lit and German, and have done supply for a couple of years so have experience teaching most other subjects too!

so: anyone else ever gone through the process of getting foreign certification verified, and sat for the tests you apparently have to do if you want to teach in the state of Texas? any advice for a total n00b? many thanks in advance for any assistance

[KarenCee 3]

You would most likely need to contact the department of education at the state level to find out what requirements they have regarding your accreditation. Do a search for the Texas Department of Education, from there I'm sure you'll find out what you need to know.

[StillThePrettiest 3]

thank you; I've looked extensively online and found lots of great information, and have even rung a couple of times and talked to some helpful people... in starting this thread I was interested in hearing from anyone who's been through the process and might be able to give me some practical tips or hints about their experiences

[ysa 0]

I have the same situation as you! what i did is, I check the WES website and send my school backhome a letter requesting my transcrip of record, then your school will send that record straight to WES, as soon they recieved it (WES) they will send you an email, thats the time you have to pay them i think i pay $150.00. Lucky me i got 165 credit which is Bachelor degree here in USA, then after that i send a letter to the Superintendent, their pretty good here! they send me an aplication to take the NJ teacher's exam which i haven't take it yet i dont know just little scared about it Anyhow goodluck and i hope this help.

[Ban Hammer 13,344]

this bunch might be able to help too

http://www.tsta.org/

[StillThePrettiest 3]

thank you charlesandnessa and ysa

[kenandmaritza 0]

My wife is also going thru this in Pennsylvania. Seems more complicated here tho. She wants to teach Spanish, which requires certification of course. To get certification, she must take an approved certification prep program, then pass the PRAXIS (??) test. However, applying for the certification prep program at the local univ., they denied her stating that she would need to first take 10 non-degree courses before she could enter the program. Most of the courses seem to make sense for and American studying Spanish, but being from Peru, they seem so basic for her. Makes me wonder if it's just a ploy to nickel and dime everybody. By my calculation, that's about 2-2.5 years of coursework she'd have to take. Are we missing something here?

[bakofoil 27]

I am also a qualified teacher (here in the UK at least) and am totally confused about the way that US degrees and foreign degrees are compared. 165 credits doesn't seem like many, a bachelors here is at least 300, so they must be calculated differently.

I'm thinking about teaching in California but there seem to be a lot of hoops to jump through to get state credentials (particularly when you already spent 2 years training post-grad) so I'm also considering an alternative career route.

I had heard somewhere, that in some states your foreign teaching qualification is sufficient. I know there is a company that does teacher exchange programs in states that don't require re-training. I might be wrong though.

[StillThePrettiest 3]

oh, nice to see some action on this thread again!

the woman I spoke to in the Texas office seemed to indicate that it would be a relatively straightforward process, but it seemed to be, like most other things, rather lengthy and costly... I won't remember all the details now, but I remember that they would charge to contact my university and get my academic transcripts (and I seem to remember another charge to actually ISSUE the results of this; seems rather heinous); I'd have to sit a test in any subject area in which I'd like to teach, and there'd be a charge for both doing the test and for getting the results

however, it SEEMS as if after all that palaver my previous experience would at least be recognised... gad, you'd hope so

[bakofoil 27]

oh, nice to see some action on this thread again!

the woman I spoke to in the Texas office seemed to indicate that it would be a relatively straightforward process, but it seemed to be, like most other things, rather lengthy and costly... I won't remember all the details now, but I remember that they would charge to contact my university and get my academic transcripts (and I seem to remember another charge to actually ISSUE the results of this; seems rather heinous); I'd have to sit a test in any subject area in which I'd like to teach, and there'd be a charge for both doing the test and for getting the results

however, it SEEMS as if after all that palaver my previous experience would at least be recognised... gad, you'd hope so

Well, you'd think with a teacher shortage they'd be welcoming qualified teachers from abroad. I know there was an article in the TES recently saying that the UK was slacking off on foreign teacher requirements. This news will annoy a friend of mine from South Africa who was effectively an NQT when she arrived here, despite having a good few years teaching experience over there.

I'm in a sticky situation right now, I relocated to cut down costs whilst this process is underway. Left my job and am now unemployed. Signed on with a couple of agencies and now the perfect job seems to be falling into my lap...on a permanent basis. I don't know whether to just go ahead with it, sit out the rest of the academic year and move out (on the visa hopefully) during the summer holidays. I need some money! I could go for something outside teaching but nothing is guaranteed (including the visa). Oh dear

[StillThePrettiest 3]

man, that is a tough one... if you could commit for the rest of the academic year I can't see how that would be a major problem for them... up to you though, of course

you're so right, about the teacher shortage! it baffles me... I read somewhere, while I was researching, that Texas expects a shortfall of 40,000 teachers in the next year! you'd think they'd welcome us with open arms...

[rizthomson 3]

Hello everybody....

i am in USA for the last 6 months...and at this time i am taking the Alternate Certification Programme for the Teachers...known as the ACP route.....

you can look into the websites www.txteachers.org

i will have to clear the contend test....and i will be teaching Mathematics 4-8 grade...and if you are graduate from foreign University you also have to clear TOEFL

i have the state math exam on 13th OCT.......so PSE pray to JESUS christ for me

...now i am going ...i have a lot to study...will write after the exam....

rizthomson

man, that is a tough one... if you could commit for the rest of the academic year I can't see how that would be a major problem for them... up to you though, of course

you're so right, about the teacher shortage! it baffles me... I read somewhere, while I was researching, that Texas expects a shortfall of 40,000 teachers in the next year! you'd think they'd welcome us with open arms...

Edited October 9, 2007 by rizthomson

[joelunchbox 0]

My wife is also going thru this in Pennsylvania. Seems more complicated here tho. She wants to teach Spanish, which requires certification of course. To get certification, she must take an approved certification prep program, then pass the PRAXIS (??) test. However, applying for the certification prep program at the local univ., they denied her stating that she would need to first take 10 non-degree courses before she could enter the program. Most of the courses seem to make sense for and American studying Spanish, but being from Peru, they seem so basic for her. Makes me wonder if it's just a ploy to nickel and dime everybody. By my calculation, that's about 2-2.5 years of coursework she'd have to take. Are we missing something here?

If they are worth their beans, they will let her ...I want to say CLEP but there is another word I am searching for!! Anyway, they might let her do a one on one test with the dept head. BUT, be aware--just like all of us english speaking americans, you don't always know what you think you know!!! Grammar rules are tricky especially when you are teaching grammar. I knew a friend who grew up speaking french (mother was french) but never got an A in the class because he spoke so colloquially!! haha Spoke french too well, I guess. Maybe he was lazy???

good luck

[Rubycon 0]

Just an alternative strategy - perhaps contact some independent schools and ask about their recruitment policies. I'm pretty sure that many don't require you to be a US certified teacher, although you might have to settle for a lower salary than your US counterparts. With experience of the British and Australian education systems, it shouldn't be too difficult to convince a school HR department that you can teach!

Good luck!

[zgundam 0]

Hello everybody....

i am in USA for the last 6 months...and at this time i am taking the Alternate Certification Programme for the Teachers...known as the ACP route.....

you can look into the websites www.txteachers.org

i will have to clear the contend test....and i will be teaching Mathematics 4-8 grade...and if you are graduate from foreign University you also have to clear TOEFL

i have the state math exam on 13th OCT.......so PSE pray to JESUS christ for me

...now i am going ...i have a lot to study...will write after the exam....

rizthomson

rizthomson, please keep us updated. This is a subject I'm very interested in. My soon to be wife is a teacher in Vietnam and I would like her to continue doing that here in Texas (Houston) as she like her work. I'm very curious to see how it is done for a non-native English speaker point of view.

I had never heard of txteachers.org, do you like their program?

What would you recommend as her first step when she comes here. Should she go to her university now while she is in her home country to get her university transcripts?

Thanks.