Teach For America South Louisiana requires all corps members to be on a pathway to obtaining certification through one of our alternative certification partners. Many incoming corps members will join the corps without traditional certification. Teach For America South Louisiana will work to ensure that you understand your certification options and the process by which you begin to become a certified educator in Louisiana.
Becoming Certified to Teach
All corps members must take and pass one or more PRAXIS exams, depending on teaching assignments before arriving for institute. Reach out to our staff to ensure that you know which exams you’re required to complete.
While the cost of alternative certification and personal preparation for tests are the responsibility of incoming corps members, support from regional staff along with study guides and resources are available to ensure success throughout the certification process.
Estimated start up and certification costs are $5,000.
Graduate School
Through a partnership with Louisiana State University, second-year corps members may pursue a master’s degree in any subject area tuition-free (does not include the cost of fees). This tuition exemption does not extend to Louisiana State University’s veterinary, law, or medical schools and covers a portion of the costs associated with the university’s professional master’s in business administration.
Teach For America Training
As an incoming corps member, there are a number of elements to your development as a leader equipped to affect large-scale change across systems. Your training as an incoming corps member begins with virtual onboarding in the spring. Virtual onboarding will consist of webinars covering foundational information about our region and will be the starting point for your development through our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusiveness (DEI) programming.
Teach For America’s Pre-Service program takes place over five phases, beginning with Launch in May and extending through corps members’ first 90 days of teaching in the fall. The program aims to develop corps members as anti-racist teacher leaders, prepare corps members to provide students with a high-quality education, and equip corps members to pursue a lifetime commitment to advancing educational equity and excellence.
For the duration of your two-year experience, the Teacher Leadership Development team is charged with providing you the resources, experiences, and support to drive your development as a leader that is equipped to affect large-scale change across systems. Within your classroom, your Manager of Teacher Leadership Development (MTLD) will provide you one-on-one coaching, resources, and strategies to support the rigorous goals you’ve set for your students. An additional support in your development as a teacher leader is the certification program you’ve chosen to partner with, which will provide you the content knowledge required to support the rigorous goals you’ve set for your students. Finally, as a corps member you will continue to engage in our intensive Diversity, Equity, and Inclusiveness programming, which we seek to integrate into your experience in formal and informal ways. It is our belief that your ability to navigate complex systemic challenges, affect change in the communities we serve, and affect long-term change as a systems leader hinges on your ability to navigate your identity and the identity of those around you.
In South Louisiana, it is our goal to leverage these experiences to develop your ability to lead change efforts across our region in partnership with the communities we serve and the 300+ Teach For America leaders that comprise our network.