• How are corps members eligible to be hired by school districts?
• Do corps members meet the No Child Left Behind Act requirements?
• Will I be certified after my two years?

How are corps members eligible to be hired by school districts?
In all Teach For America regions, corps members without undergraduate teaching degrees (includes most of our corps) are eligible to obtain state-issued teaching certificates, licenses, or permits through alternative teacher certification routes, which enable school districts to hire them. Although requirements for teaching vary significantly by state and are typically different for early childhood and K-12 teachers even within the same state, in the vast majority of cases, corps members must possess a bachelor's degree and demonstrate subject area mastery by completing undergraduate coursework and/or passing certain tests prior to being hired for a full-time teaching position. In addition, most states require individuals who come in through non-traditional teacher education backgrounds (the case for the majority of our corps members) to enroll in state-approved coursework or certification programs.

Read more about the certification process.

Do corps members meet the No Child Left Behind Act requirements?
Yes. The No Child Left Behind Act defines a highly qualified teacher as one who holds a bachelor’s degree, has full state certification, and has demonstrated subject area competence in each subject taught (typically by passing a test or completing undergraduate coursework). For the purposes of No Child Left Behind, teachers who are participating in an alternative route program to teacher certification may be considered to meet the "full state certification" requirements for highly qualified teacher status if they are permitted by the state to assume functions as a regular classroom teacher and demonstrate satisfactory progress toward full certification in their programs. The requirements for alternative teaching certification programs vary by region. 

Read more about certification in each of our regions

Will I be certified after my two years?
Certification requirements and length varies across our regions. In most cases, the ongoing coursework that corps members take as part of their region’s alternative teaching program leads to full certification by the end of the two years. In other cases, corps members need to take additional coursework beyond their two-year commitment to become fully certified. In all cases, corps members are responsible for completing and submitting all coursework and certification program-related deliverables on time and for fulfilling all financial obligations to the certifying agency or institution prior to receiving their formal certification, or as agreed upon between the corps member and relevant entity. 

Visit our placement regions pages to learn more about regional certification requirements.