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Forgive me if this isn't an appropriate post for the group. Hoping someone can help.
My husband recently applied for a FL teaching certificate. He has his Bachelors, so it seemed like a good idea especially since teaching "was" his first occupational interest years ago. He ended up going into business instead.
Anyway, DH followed all instructions and received his letter stating he is eligible for a cert to teach. However, the letter says he'll receive his certificate when he obtains a teaching position. On the other hand, when he applies for positions, he receives notification that he's not eligible for hire because he doesn't have the certificate yet.
Has the process always been like this? Any pointers on how DH can obtain his certificate without having a job lined up?
Yes, it is a completely ****ed up, catch-22 process that many have complained about many times, in vain. That said, it gives a very accurate, preliminary idea of how Florida school districts work--it's all politics; it's all bull****.
Granted, you all are in Tampa; it may be different over there. But in PBCounty, this is how it works:
Even when he gets a job, he will have to take classes (which are the exact courses provided by the usually crappy local colleges, which means $$ for them) and go through a year of "mentoring" from a fellow teacher, who is only mentoring b/c he or she gets paid extra $ to do so and who many times is not even of the same department/subject that the new teacher is teaching.
Furthermore, your DH will be required to spend three years at the school in which he gets a job (and BTW, the good jobs are already taken) or face "leaving on bad terms" (i.e. being blackballed) by the district. Administrators, faculty and students usually know about the three year deal and completely take advantage of it; you are, essentially, a fish in a barrel.
If I were your DH, I would try to find a teaching job in another state or at a private or parochial school that does not require certification but encourages (and helps fund) a Master's degree for DH. However, as I've said, there are very few of those jobs in FL., and those that do exist are already taken.
I did that exact thing last year here in Sw FL and here's the deal:
ONE of the requirement to get your teaching certificate is to teach for one year in a public school. Another requirement may be some classes, that they should specify in that letter. The first step is to obtain his temporary certificate. Once he has this, he can apply for a teaching job and fulfill the one year requirement. Also, there may be some subject area exams he can take, thats how I got my temporary certificate without having to go to school. Basically, these are all shortcuts to a teaching certif without going back to school for a teachind degree.
But the most helpful thing he can do is go to the HR dept of your school district and that person should look at the letter he received and that person can tell him specifically what to do next. The two ways to become a teacher are to go to school for a teaching degree, or to take these shortcuts, involving getting a temp certif first, teaching a year, passing some exams called subject area exams and some others, getting some training credits through the school district, and, depending on his transcript, taking a few classes.
Its kind of hard to coherently explain as they do make this process incredibly confusing somehow, so pls feel free to email me and Id be glad to explain more! Good luck.
Yes, it is a completely ****ed up, catch-22 process that many have complained about many times, in vain. That said, it gives a very accurate, preliminary idea of how Florida school districts work--it's all politics; it's all bull****.
LOL! It's not just the schools. Basically, the easiest way to deal with Floridian bureaucracy in general is to remember that yes, this really IS a banana republic.
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