School districts hire Teach For America corps members through state-approved alternative certification programs, which require that corps members meet specific requirements and demonstrate proficiency in the grades and subject areas they will teach.
In many cases, the ongoing coursework that corps members take as part of their region’s alternative teaching program leads to full certification by the end of their two years. In other cases, corps members choose to take additional coursework beyond their two-year commitment to become fully certified. For the purposes of No Child Left Behind, teachers who are participating in an alternative route program to teacher certification may be considered to meet the "full state certification" requirements for highly qualified teacher status. This happens if they are permitted by the state to assume functions as a regular classroom teacher and demonstrate satisfactory progress toward full certification in their programs.
These program requirements vary by region and by position, but in most cases they call for corps members to pass subject-area tests before teaching and to take ongoing coursework during the school year. Teach For America works with school districts, states, and schools of education to ensure that corps members have access to coursework, test information, and preparation tools to meet these requirements. In many regions we have established partnerships with graduate schools that enable our corps members to obtain their master's degrees in education.
While Teach For America connects corps members to these resources, ultimately corps members are responsible for ensuring they meet the required standards and cover the related costs.
Find out more details by visiting the certification section of each
region's page
Our corps members
Corps and Alumni