How to Get Hired Through Maryland’s Teacher Certification Program

The normal route to getting hired as a teacher in Maryland is to graduate with a degree from a university and take a teacher preparation program. However, if you have at least a Bachelor's degree and no teacher training, you can get hired in a teaching position through the Maryland Resident Teacher Certification Program, called the RTC. This is one of the alternate routes you can take for obtaining a teaching license in this state.

There are specific admission requirements for the program, which include:

• Holding a degree from an accredited university located in the region
  
  
  
• Have at least a B average in the courses taken for this degree
  
• Pass the Praxis 1 Basic Skills test with a minimum score of 527, and
  
• Pass the Praxis 11 content area tests with the required minimum scores
  

If you have a degree from a university outside the US, you must submit your transcripts to the Maryland Teacher Certification Program to have them verified and the accreditations of the university verified. You must be a US citizen through birth or with a green card, but if your first language is not English, you must have a good command of the English language. In order to teach in a high school, you must have at least twelve university courses in the subject are you wish to teach. For elementary school teaching positions, you must also have twelve content area courses, which include at least six courses in each of English, Social Studies and Math. Your scores in the Praxis 11 content area exams must be submitted to the program before you start your first semester.

As part of the Maryland Teacher Certification Program, you can meet the requirements for a teaching license in about one and a half years. You will have to spend one fourteen week semester in university as well as a summer residential experience. The other year will be a teaching year, which will then allow you to be eligible for the Standard Professional Teaching certificate. During your full year of teaching, you must also take teacher-training courses in reading. For high school teachers, this means one additional course and for elementary teachers it means taking two courses in reading. You will also engage in online discussions and courses to gain more knowledge about Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment in Maryland schools. At the end of this first year of teaching, you must take and pass the second part of the Praxis 11 exams applicable to your teaching position in order for the state to issue your certificate.

You don’t have to worry about meeting the admission requirements of a teacher preparation program when you gain admission to the Maryland Teacher Certification Program. Admission into this program guarantees you admission in the university program. You should have a teaching area in mind before you apply to the Teacher Certification Program because preference is given to applicants who want to teach subjects for which there is a shortage of qualified. Choosing one of these areas will practically guarantee that you will be able to take part in the program and become a teacher.