Teachers Degrees?

There are two possibilities of what these teachers are:

1: they are in their final phase of teacher education for their degree and this is their supervised student teaching. Some of these will be students earning their master’s or doctorate in education. Most will be in their last semester of their bachelor’s degree.

2: they are pursuing an alternative route to certification. They already have a bachelor’s or higher degree in the subject that they are teaching but not a degree in education. While they teach, they are required to take classes in education or get a master’s degree in education in order to be certified.

As insane as it may sound, a person with a PhD in Physics is not qualified to teach physics in a high school though he is perfectly qualified to teach in a college. This person would need to take some classes in curriculum design and classroom management and foundations of education in order to get a teaching certificate.

So, remember, not having a “degree to teach” may mean the person holds a much higher degree than a Bachelor of Education or that he/she is completing one while teaching under supervision.

The qualifications of the teachers in any public school are open to the public. You can ask the principal or the school district office about what degree was earned and where it came from regarding any teacher.

It really sounds like these teachers may be interns in their last year of school before graduating. In public schools, these are the only “teachers” who would not have a degree. They work with a cooperating teacher as they learn about running a classroom (something which cannot be learned sitting in a college class).

It could also be that these teachers have a degree in another field and are teaching while working on their alternate certification (taking the required educational classes to qualify for their teaching credentials). These teachers will have a mentor teacher assigned to them and would have a temporary teaching certificate.

Both interns and alternate certification candidates are supervised, so there should be no problems.

You can talk to the teachers or ask the principal or school district for this information. Information is usually sent home once a year about which teachers are not “highly qualified” and which classrooms will be hosting interns.

Yes, you should be able to go to the county of education website. You should be able to find a “teacher look up” link and type in the teacher’s first and last name to find their credentials. It’s public information. The county I teach in (bay area) you can view this information. The parent should know if the person teaching your child is qualified.

Most likely the teachers at your daughter’s school do have at least their bachelors and are working towards their credentials. I’ve worked with teachers that were obtaining their credential while teaching in the classroom.

No I don’t believe that you can check up on teacher’s degrees. But I am sure that if you asked about their education teachers would tell you. No districts, that I know of, allow teachers not to have bachelor’s degrees. Most likely the teachers are in the process of getting their Masters going to school part time.

More and more colleges are offering classes designed for stay at home moms etc. Also many college are starting to have five year programs so you can get you BA and MA at the same time.

You should look for a school that offers life credits. Life credits are credits awarded for life experience. If you have a BA and are interested in switching careers look into programs like Teach For America ( http://www.teachforamerica.com/index.htm) or a teaching fellows in your state. These programs are extremely hard to get in to but you get your education for free while teaching in low income areas.

I am not sure that there is any specific website with this information because personnel changes occur so frequently.

This is however, public information and you are entitled to see the credentials for the teachers that are providing instruction for your daughter. You may try going to the school principals office and requesting a list of credentials for the staff. If they refuse, take your concerns to the next level, which may be an area supervisor or the district superintendent. This is public information and you do have the right to iquire.

Good luck

You should be able to contact the teachers or school to find out anything you need. Most schools are required to let parents know if a teacher isn’t certified in a subject they are teaching.

You can also contact the county school offices to find out information. Most counties have a person/office dedicated to certification. In the state I teach (Florida), certification information is available online from the Department of Education.

Why not just go ask the teachers what their degrees are instead of sneaking around on websites trying to look up people’s information.

Try asking the teachers first. That seems like the easiest, direct approach.

The school, district, and state dept of ed keeps records of their teaching certificate.

It’s not a big secret, just ask.