All teachers must hold or be eligible for Connecticut certification. Your best source of information on Connecticut certification is the State Department of Education's Bureau of Certification. Access the website by clicking here, or call (860) 713-6969.
A brief summary of Connecticut's certificates follows:
Initial Educator: This is the first certificate issued to teachers in Connecticut. It is valid for three (3) years. Within that time the teacher must successfully complete the TEAM Program requirements. This certificate is also issued to out-of-state candidates who have less than three years of teaching experience.
Provisional: This certificate is valid for eight (8) years. During this time the teacher must complete 30 credits beyond the Bachelor's Degree in a planned graduate program. Once a teacher has completed the credit requirement and has taught for three years under this certificate, the teacher is eligible to receive a Professional Educator certificate. The Provisional certificate is issued to out-of-state candidates with three years of experience of more.
Professional Educator: This certificate is valid for five (5) years. It is renewable upon completion of 90 hours of continuing education, commonly referred to as CEU's. Some endorsements require that, within the 90 hours, certain kinds of professional development activities must be completed. For instance, administrators must take 15 hours of instruction in teacher evaluation as part of the 90 hours (elementary teachers have a reading requirement and middle grade teachers have a "use of computers in the classroom" requirement). This certificate is renewable every five years at no additional fee.
Durational Shortage Area Permit: This permit is issued upon request of a school district if it is unable to find a certified and qualified teacher in an area of demonstrated shortage. The candidate must have 12 credits in the subject area (or six, upon recommendation of the district) and have passed the Praxis I testing requirement. A teacher candidate may not request this permit on his or her own.
Temporary 90-Day: Graduates of the Alternate Route to Certification (ARC) program are issued this certificate upon request of the employing district. After 90 school days, upon successful completion of employment, the teacher is issued an Initial Educator certificate. Holders of the Temporary 90-day certificate are required to be enrolled in the BEST Program and are given extra assistance from a mentor if necessary.
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