Can you obtain a teaching certificate from a community college?

Answer 1

The only teaching certificate you can get from a community college is Early Childhood Education, preschool, if they offer it. To teach kindergarten and above, you can do your first two years at a community college, the finish at a four year college or university, then a year of graduate work to get your teaching credential.

Answer 2

All the answers so far are, to some extent, incorrect.

In Texas, where I live, some community colleges, in conjunction with the State Board of Education, offer programs for people who already have bachelor's degrees to obtain state certification. This allows greater access to certification in a very large state.

You have to enroll in the program, take about 6 months of courses taught by PhD's employed by the community college, and undergo a year of supervised paid internship at a participating public or private school. The total cost is about $3000, but grants are available.

How do I know? That's how I got certified.

Answer 3

A community college only offers AA degrees and other certificates. You must go to a 4 year college or university to get a BA and enroll in a credential program.

You can begin at a CC, but you'll have to be careful about what will transfers. I completed my credential along with my BA, so I only needed 4 years of college. Many programs add an extra year for a teaching credential.

Another option is to get your BA, and then an emergency credential... but in that instance, you are teaching and going to school at the same time... which can get a little hairy, especially if you don't have any teaching experience.

Do the research. Each program is different, especially from state to state.

Answer 4

Teaching Certificates are awarded by the States' usually their department of education.

In order to be awarded a certificate you need to have the educational requirements which are set by that state. Typically you need a Bachelors Degree in Secondary Education, but you can have a degree in another area and get a temporary teaching certificate while taking education courses on the side. You usually only need about 18 hours of education courses in order to be certified if you already have a degree.

You can obtain the education from many community colleges. You need to call your local schools to see if they have a program which meets your needs--if you don't have a degree, then you need a bachelors program, if you already do, then you need a career changers program for teacher certification.

I would take umbrage with some of those below who suggest you cannot get the education at a community level college--it depends on the state and it depends on the college. I for one, am teaching at a career college which is accredited to offer several bachelors programs in addition to the more typical AA and AS degrees.

Moreover, some people already have advanced degrees (I have a JD) and would be qualified to teach by taking a mere 6 courses (18 credit hours) to become fully certified--and at least here in Florida those classes are offered in Community Colleges amongst other places. So it also depends on whether you already have a degree as I said--and, if you do, a community college can offer you what you need to be certified.

You're best bet for accurate information, is to contact the State Education Department of your state to find out what is required and then to search for a qualified institution to provide what you need.

Here in Florida, you submit your credentials to the Department and they send you a status letter--telling you whether you are qualified for a permanent teaching license, a 3 year temporary license, or unqualified. And, they tell you what you need to accomplish to become qualified in the same letter.

I received my letter in August, since I have 2 degrees (BA-History and JD-Law) I merely have to take 18 hours of courses, pass a general knowledge test and a subject matter test and I can be permanently certified. RIght now I have a 3 year temporary teaching certificate and I am waiting to hear if I will be hired to teach High School History.

Answer 5

Speaking for NY state, NO!
Community colleges in NYS are only 2 year institutions while college and universities are 4 year.
In NYS you can get a teacher's assistant certificate in a community college though!

Answer 6

Many community colleges do offer teacher's assistant programs. These provide you with very basic classroom skills and typically allow you to work as the number two person in a classroom or in a support capacity. I actually know someone who has such a credential and does this type of work. She finds it really rewarding because she is able to frequently work with a small subset of the kids. She takes kids out of their typical (elementary school) classroom for an hour or two per week who are either behind and struggling or who are too advanced for the pace of the work. She considered getting her BA, but decided against it because she would have to work with 20 or more kids, rather than getting to have personal interaction with one, two, or three kids at a time.

Answer 7

No, because you need a higher degree to get the certificate; that is, you need a bachelor's degree, but CCs only offer associate's degrees. Anyway, go to a 4-year university. They are much better overall, from the breadth of courses offered to the quality of instruction.

Answer 8

No. It's a 4-year degree, plus an extra semester of student teaching.

Answer 9

you cant. You can possibly graduate from your college and go to a university and take classes toward your liscensure there.

Answer 10

i doubt it, or else everyone would be teaching each other