TCP PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS FOR
EC-4 GENERALIST/ESL AND
EC-4 GENERALIST/BILINGUAL CERTIFICATIONS:

For Individuals seeking initial certification and planning to enter the teaching field:
Individuals seeking initial certification and not employed by an independent school district will enroll in a program, which will provide the background in educational philosophy, theory, pedagogy, instructional technology, and best teaching practices to succeed in the classroom.

 a. Program Training Requirements Prior to Teaching:

Collin’s Teacher Certification program is structured as a Continuing Professional Development program leading to a Standard teaching certificate to teach in Texas public schools.
Training is offered to obtain Elementary certifications, with some variation in the number of hours of training required for ESL and Bilingual certifications.  

100 hours of Content Preparation
40 hours of training in Effective Teaching Practices
88 hours of Pedagogy & professional Responsibilities training
20 hours of Early Field-based Experiences and journal reflections

60 hours of training in teaching English as a Second Language (for ESL certification)
24 additional hours of training in teaching Bilingual (Spanish) students (for Bilingual certification)

Successfully complete the TExES content area (EC-4) exam
Successfully complete the Pedagogy & Professional Responsibilities (PPR) TExES exam
Successfully complete the ESL supplemental TExES exam (for ESL certification)
Successfully complete the Texas Oral Proficiency (TOPT-Spanish) and the Bilingual supplemental exams (for Bilingual certification).

Upon completion of this initial training, individuals will need to follow one of two options to complete the program:

b.1.  Internship Option (Mentored Teaching with a Probationary Teaching Certificate)

Requires students in Collin’s program to teach in a Texas public school as a program Intern on a probationary teaching certificate. Collin’s Program will maintain a database of TCP students seeking employment opportunities, and provide this information to school districts requesting it, but each individual has the primary responsibility for obtaining their own Internship position.

Internship components  to successfully complete the program are:

• Employed full-time at an independent school district  or in a Texas Education Agency accredited private school
• Required mentoring program for two long semesters
• Enroll in and attend 1.5 hours of weekly continued professional development

b.2.  Student Teaching Option (Supervised Clinical Teaching Experience)

Students in Collin’s program selecting this option will be placed with a supervising classroom teacher in a public school to gain teaching experience. Student teaching components to successfully complete the program:

• Full-time commitment for 12 weeks to work in a school setting without pay
• Required mentoring program for one semester
• Enroll in and attend 2 hours of weekly student teaching workshops

For Individuals who are Emergency Certified (already hired by a school district) and are seeking initial certification:

Individuals entering Collin’s TCP and teaching full time on emergency certification will receive the same initial training in professional development and content-specific pedagogy as the uncertified individuals.
Emergency certified individuals accepted into the TCP will be eligible to enter the internship program concurrently with the program training.

After successfully completing the Internship program and all components of the program training, individuals will be recommended for a standard teaching certificate.