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It's time again for the annual CARE Talk! Dr. Laura Rodriguez will be talking about the teacher certification admissions process and answering your questions about the education program. This event will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 11, at 3:00 PM in the Student Center Theatre. This is a great time to become a teacher in Connecticut, so please join us if you are considering a career in the rewarding field of education.
This is a great time to become a teacher in Connecticut, and Eastern is the ideal place to earn your teaching certification. CARE (the Committee for Admission and Retention in Education) manages the entrance to, progress through, and exit from Eastern's teacher certification program for all candidates--undergraduate, graduate, and post-baccalaureate. The policies of the committee are outlined clearly in the CARE Policies document. Application information can be found below.
All undergraduate applicants must apply online through Tk20, an electronic data management system: Undergraduate Application (due Feb. 15)
The application is free and does not have to be completed at once. You can add materials to your application as you gather them, as long as the application is complete before the deadline. Only complete applications will be considered. You can apply to Early Childhood Education (ECE) for Pre-K- Grade 3 certification (with a special education endorsement), Elementary Education (ELE) for grades 1-6, Secondary Education (SEC) for grades 7-12, and Physical Education (HPE) for preK-12 certification.
Undergraduate applicants are eligible for admission if they have earned 45-60 credits which usually occurs in the middle of the sophomore year.
Having experience working with children can help you know whether the teaching profession is right for you. We require that applicants to the undergraduate program spend at least 20 hours working with children before applying to the Education Program at Eastern. The children you work with should represent a diverse pool of students and should be approximately comparable to the age of students with whom you intend to work as an educator. Half of this time may be paid (e.g., as paid camp counselor or daycare employee); the rest should be voluntary (e.g., as an unpaid coach or tutor, or as a volunteer in a community program such as Big Brother/Big Sister). Babysitting does NOT count—sorry!
All applications are evaluated by the Committee for Admission and Retention in Education (CARE), a group of Education Department faculty who represent all of the education programs. CARE monitors all candidate admission to, progress through, and exit from the Education Program. Remember: CARE is not the program; it is the committee that oversees the program.
Soon after the application deadline, CARE will evaluate each application and render a decision. Because CARE meets monthly, you may not find out the status of your application for up to six weeks. Be patient. We will let you know as soon as possible.
The CT State Department of Education (SDE) no longer requires applicants to pass the Praxis I for state certification. However, state regulations require that all teacher candidates must demonstrate basic skills competence through scores from a standardized test. Applicants must submit scores from one of the following tests (tests may be taken multiple times, if necessary):
Candidates who do not achieve the minimum scores above may A) re-take the deficient section(s) of the relevant test, or B) take alternate courses offered by Eastern and pass with a grade of “C” or better. Candidates who do not pass the Reading and/or Writing section may take the Stage 2 Writing requirement in their major, and candidates who do not pass the Math section may take MAT 135, MAT 135P, MAT 139P, MAT 195, or MAT 243. These courses must be successfully completed with a grade of C or better prior to student teaching.
If you are not admitted to the undergraduate Education Program, you will be told the reasons so that you may improve on the area(s) of deficiency for the future. If you are undergraduate applying in your sophomore year, you can apply as a senior for the Early Start Option (see below). Or you can wait until you have graduated from Eastern, then apply to our traditional graduate program which usually takes three semesters to complete. It is best to discuss your options with an Education Department faculty member.
The Early Start Option enables candidates to enroll in introductory education courses during the spring semester of their senior year. After graduating, you will continue taking graduate-level courses over the summer. In the fall, you begin taking courses as a full-time graduate student, and you will complete the program in the spring, graduating with a Master of Education degree and eligible for certification. This is a great option for students who decide to become teachers later in their college experience. Pursuing this option still requires acceptance to the Education Program. Early Start applications must be submitted in time for the Fall Semester deadlines which occur on the first of the month, September through January. October 1 is considered “Early Start Option Priority Admission.” Apply at Early Start Option (due on the 1st of each month from Sep. to Jan.).
Eastern offers numerous opportunities for students to obtain multiple teaching endorsements after they have earned their initial certification, including secondary English, Mathematics, History/Social Studies, Biology, and Earth Science as well as preK-12 Art, Music, Special Education, and TESOL. Requirements vary by certification area, but candidates may contact Dr. Mark Fabrizi for more information or download this cross-endorsement pamphlet.
Note: Applying for additional endorsements is the responsibility of the student. The Education Department strongly recommends that candidates wishing to cross-endorse should contact the CT State Department of Education to ensure they have taken the proper content coursework.
