Refer to the graphic HERE to understand the intersection of PSC Requirements and TFA Requirements. The standard Teach For America professional development and support program will satisfy most requirements for the certification program. However, there are some very specific PSC requirements that will happen outside of standard programming and must be done to meet the state of Georgia’s standards for certification.

The Teacher Certification program will take 2 years to complete as many of the requirements of the program are embedded into the professional development you receive from Teach For America. Program completion depends on teaching performance and receiving 20 attendance credits (12 in Year 1 and 8 in Year 2) and 30 assignment credits (19 in Year 1 and 11 in Year 2).

You will be recommended to receive a professional certificate once ALL of the following information is true:

1. You have met the program expectations and requirements of the Teacher Certification Program, including proficiency on the PSC deliverables;

2. You are proficient in all categories on the Danielson Framework rubric by the 3rd MTLD Formal Observation in Year 2;

3. You scored proficient or above on the Education Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA);

4. You have been rated satisfactory or above on your Teacher Keys Effectiveness Evaluations;

5. You have paid your tuition in full; and

6. You have taught for 3 years.

You will find that there are many theoretical approaches to educating students, so there is no simple answer to this question. But I think this is true of all disciplines. You may certainly find that there will be times that you may get some conflicting viewpoints from your course instructors, MTLD, Mentor, and/or Building Administrator. The goal of the Teacher Certification Pathway program is to educate you to the extent that you are eventually comfortable enough in dissecting these viewpoints so that you can develop your own instructional approach. We do realize that this process will not be immediate. Please know that Teach For America is a safe space to bring up any questions you have regarding conflicting advice/philosophies/viewpoints that you are receiving at your school, from TFA, or from your mentors, and/or from your MTLD. We all learn from these conversations, so our advice is to just put it out there when you run into this situation. A part of our support will be helping you to synthesize a path forward that is in the best interest of your students and their unique needs.

You will earn a minimum of 12 attendance credits by the end of Year 1 and a minimum of 8 attendance credits by the end of Year 2. You must attend at least 75% of a course experience (for example, 3 of 4 classes within the experience, 5 of 6 classes within the experience, or 6 of 8 classes within the experience) to receive the attendance credits. If you do not receive the attendance credit in a specific course, you will be required to enroll in a different experience to earn those credits.

If you are proficient in all elements in the Classroom Environment and Instruction strands on your first MTLD observation during Year 2, then you will not have to engage in the other 2 formal observation cycles. You would have completed your MTLD formal observation requirement at that time. The same is true if this happens on your 2nd observation.

It depends on the requirements of your charter school/charter district. If you are employed at an independent charter school, you will have to speak with your building administrator about their expectations around being enrolled in a certification program. If you are employed in a charter district, you will have to follow the district expectations for Teach For America teachers regarding enrollment in a certification program. Please note that if your charter school or charter district does not require you to be enrolled in a certification program, you are still required to meet the Professional Development System (PDS) expectations that are required for all Corps Members.