1. How can I add endorsements to my teaching certificate and in what areas are they available? Candidates can add an endorsement in one of two ways. 1) Candidates can add an endorsement by attending an approved university program and taking the appropriate test (West E or NES). 2) Candidates may be able to take a test only for certain state approved areas of endorsement. See the following link to OSPI for more information. http://www.k12.wa.us/certification/teacher/Endorsement.aspx
2. How have Washington State Endorsement requirements changed? In May of 2017 the Washington State Professional Educator Standards Board amended the State requirements for adding Teaching Certificate Endorsements. The board eliminated a previous “Pathway 2” for securing an endorsement through a pedagogy assessment only.
3. What are the new Washington State options for adding an endorsement to my teaching certificate? In addition to eliminating Pathway 2, the net effect of the Board action is that regardless of endorsement held, effective June 27, 2017 endorsements that are certain multi-subject endorsements or relate to specific student populations may only be added by completion of an approved program (previously Pathway 3), while teachers will be able to add most certificate endorsements via passage of the appropriate subject matter test (previously Pathway 1). http://www.k12.wa.us/certification/teacher/Endorsement.aspx Teachers that prefer the many benefits of completing an approved endorsement program may continue to do so. City University of Seattle offers several of these state approved programs.
4. If I am currently teaching in the new subject area and/or have many years of teaching experience teaching this subject, do I have to complete a field experience?
YES. The field experience is requirement and must be taken regardless of previous coursework or experience.
5. How can I complete a field experience when I am teaching full time?
Many teachers have successfully completed their field experience while teaching. The teacher arranges to observe and teach the lessons in the endorsement area- 100 hours total over a period of 10 weeks.
6. How can I complete a field experience if I am not currently working in a school?
Students who do not have direct access to a classroom can:
Contact fellow teachers in the subject area to ask permission to teach in their classroom during the quarter.
Contact the Human Resources department of a school district to find a placement for the field experience. City University does not provide placement for endorsement candidates.
7. Will CityU find a placement for me or assign me a mentor teacher?
It is the candidate’s responsibility to secure an appropriate classroom setting for the field experience. In addition, the candidate must have a mentor teacher who holds the endorsement the candidate is pursuing and has 3 years teaching experience in that endorsement area.
8. How long does it take to receive the certificate with the added endorsement after all the endorsement coursework is complete?
Upon satisfactory completion of all program requirements, CityU will recommend the candidate to OSPI. The candidate will then receive further information and instructions for completing the eCertification process and payment through OSPI. This process can take 4-6 weeks. Candidates should not apply to OSPI to add the endorsement to their teaching certificate until they receive an email from the CityU certification office with specific directions.