No turning back

Well, there’s no turning back, now! I’ve submitted my online application, and paid the (non-refundable) $190 fee.

The first step in the application process is to apply online, with TCIS:
http://www.nj.gov/education/educators/license/tcis/


If you’re read blogs, TCIS probably won’t be a problem for you; it’s not much different than signing up for anything else on the web.

• You make an account with your contact information
• You fill in your education history and (if you have one) teaching employment history
• You select the type of certificate you’re applying for (e.g. subject matter specialization)
• Answer 4 yes/no questions about your educational qualifications (this verifies some of the basic requirements so you don’t apply if you’re grossly under-qualified.).
• You select the certificate you’re applying for (for me, that’s 1900 - K-12 Mathematics CE)
• You fill in your credit card information to pay the non-refundable $190 fee for the certificate. Technically, this is the cost of the certificate, and not an application fee, and will remain on your account as a credit until they make their decisions.

Click on the screen shot to see the qualification questions:

If you do, in fact, meet all of the requirements for the certificate you request, I’m told it takes them about 5 months to get it out to you.

If you’re missing anything, they’ll do an evaluation and tell you what you still need - for $70. They’ll just deduct that from the $190 you paid, and the remaining $120 sits in your account until you apply again; then you pay the remaining $70. If you change your mind, they hang onto your money.

The requirements are pretty well spelled out online, so most people shouldn’t have a problem if they’re careful. That said, if you have an odd circumstance, you might get into some hot water. I do know one person who got a degree in math, but because his university had trimesters, he was told that he still didn’t have enough math credits.

Hi, nice to meet you!

Hi, nice to meet you. I’m Miss Nichols, and I’ll be teaching you what it’s like to become a teacher by Alternate Route certification in New Jersey.

What I’m not doing: The traditional route that most people take is a university program that ends with a semester of student teaching. Students come out of this program with a “CEAS” - “Certificate of Eligibility with Advanced Standing.” Additionally, many programs include extra teaching courses, and result in a Master’s degree in Education.

• The main difficulty of this system is that you’re a student the entire time, paying tuition, and having little to no time for paid work.

• The benefit is that you come out of it with experience and confidence, because you actually got to teach for most of a semester!

What I am doing: I decided that Alternate Route certification was more practical for my own life. What’s that? Alternate route is when you skip the student teaching and instead apply for a “CE” - a “Certificate of Eligibility” (that doesn’t mention your standing). This means that you’re fully certified to teach your own classes (and get paid to do it!). You’ll have to take (at least) one teaching course, and you’ll work with a mentor for awhile, but they’re not going to be in the class with you every day like with student teaching. You meet with them to discuss lesson plans and any issues you may be having.

• The drawback is that you’re teaching your own class from the start, which is a lot of responsibility. If you have 6 classes a day, with 25 students per class, that’s 150 young minds whose progress in your subject is 100% your responsibility. That’s a lot of pressure.

• The benefit is that you’re actually getting paid.

As I said before, Alternate route was the practical choice for me. I weighed the pros and cons, and decided that I can do it. Sure, it will be hard. It’ll be scary, but I can handle it, to make my dreams come true!