Becoming certified in New Jersey consists of three main stages, which are described in detail on this page:

1. Meet Initial Requirements for Certificate of Eligibility
2. Meet Requirements for Provisional Credential
3. Make Progress towards Standard Credential

Becoming Certified to Teach

Certification Requirements

All corps members are required to obtain their Certificate of Eligibility (CE) prior to the start of the school year. In order to qualify for the CE, all corps members must hold a minimum 3.0 GPA and are required to:

• Submit degree conferred transcripts
• Meet Basic Skills Requirements by either receiving an exemption based on SAT/ACT/GRE scores or by passing the Praxis Core Test
• Pass all required tests for the content placement
• Pass the New Jersey Physiology and Hygiene test
• Certification application to the NJDOE

Obtaining Your Provisional Certificate

Once corps members complete the following steps, they will obtain their Provisional Certificate, which will last for two years.

• Obtain your CEs
• Get hired by a school or district
• Enroll in a district mentoring program
• Enroll in an educator preparation program (Alternate Route)

Under the Provisional Certificate, corps members will attend a two-year Alternate Route program with one of our university partners.

Obtaining Your Standard Certificate

Upon the successful completion of an Alternate Route program, which includes a performance assessment, as well as at least two “effective” summative evaluations over a two-year period corps members will become eligible for their Standard Certificate.

Please note: Corps members who teach special education, bilingual, or ESL must pursue additional coursework requirements after their first year in order to obtain their standard certificate.

Graduate School

For the 2018-2019 school year, we are currently partnering with:

• North Jersey
  • Relay Graduate School of Education (RGSE) – 2-year certification + M.A.T. program
  • Rutgers Center for Effective School Practices – 2-year certification only program 
• South Jersey
  • Relay Graduate School of Education (RGSE) – 2-year certification + M.A.T. program
  • Rutgers Center for Effective School Practices – 2-year certification only program 

TFA Training

The summer before you begin teaching, corps members participate in five-week national summer training. These typically occur around the end of June going into late July. 

Learning and experiences at summer training to help orient new corps members to the communities we serve, our approach to teaching and leading, as well as the technical skills necessary for new teachers. Our programming focuses on establishing a strong foundation for Culturally Relevant Pedagogy with specific attention to identity development and issues of equity in education.