Teach For America • Hawai‘i corps members teach under a contract between Teach For America and the Hawai‘i Department of Education. This contract requires that corps members enroll in a State Approved Teacher Education Program (SATEP) and work to secure licensing during their two-year commitments.
The DOE and the Hawai‘i State Teachers Association agreed to a separate salary scale for Teach For America, which is between the salary for traditional “emergency hires” and fully certified teachers. A separate salary scale was agreed to based on the additional training and support that corps members receive. Teach For America teachers are paid according to this separate salary scale until they become fully certified teachers. Teach For America teachers do not receive any DOE relocation incentives because they are not fully certified. Corps members will receive their licensing once they have fulfilled all their SATEP coursework and testing requirements (one or two years depending upon the university partner program they select).
Teach For America has established university partnerships with the University of Hawai‘i-Manoa and Chaminade University. Our partnership with the University of Hawai‘i is a two-year program that combines certification and a Masters of Education in Teaching. Chaminade University offers a one-year general education license-only program.
As part of the entrance requirement for both universities, corps members need to take and pass PRAXIS I and PRAXIS II (if they are teaching secondary) before they arrive in Hawai‘i.
Corps members will receive in-state tuition at the University of Hawai‘i-Manoa, but it is important to note that tuition costs increase every year. Initial certification and Masters of Education degrees through the University of Hawai‘i SPED and MET programs are currently estimated at about $14,000-16,000. Chaminade tuition costs are currently estimated at $9,000-10,000. Corps members are strongly encouraged to apply early for financial aid through qualified student loans and scholarships at both universities. Additionally, corps members currently can use their $4,725 Americorps education award each year to cover these tuition costs. In doing so, the out-of-pocket payments at the end of two years is approximately $4,000-5,000 at the University of Hawai‘i and $0-1,000 at Chaminade.
All Hawai‘i corps members are expected to enroll in a program through the University of Hawai‘i-Manoa or Chaminade or assume the responsibility to enroll in a state-approved teacher certification program in the Fall of their first year of teaching.
Additionally, Teach For America-Hawai‘i has partnered with the University of St. Thomas in Houston to grant nine graduate level credits to corps members in the MET program who attend the Houston institute. These credit hours are applied to the graduate program at the cost of $900 to corps members.
| Costs to Begin Teaching |
|---|
Testing: Upfront Costs* |
| Approximately $435 for elementary and $310-390 for special education corps members. An additional $100-200 may apply during the two-year commitment for special education teachers, depending on specific placements. |
| Approximately $260-340 for secondary corps members (varies according to the number of content area tests taken). |
| *These costs do not include any additional tests that may be required for final licensure. |
| Processing: included in testing fees; may be up to $100. |
|
Up-front Certification Program Cost:
$900 for University of St. Thomas. Costs to Maintain Emergency Credential: TBD |
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