Earning Your Teacher’s Certificate

All candidates who are accepted into the DC Teaching Fellows, by meeting all of the eligibility requirements including testing and successfully completing the Institute Training will be granted a Provisional Teaching License. This license is considered a highly qualified license in accordance with No Child Left Behind guidelines.

The Provisional Teaching License is a three-year non-renewable license created to allow outstanding individuals with no previous education coursework the opportunity to teach while working to achieve a Professional Teaching Certificate.   This license is sponsored by the Department of Human Resources and your participating university partner.

University Partners

The DC Teaching Fellows has partnerships with two nationally respected universities in Washington, DC:  George Washington University and The American University.  All Fellows assigned to teach Special Education will enroll in the certification program at George Washington University.  All other Fellows will complete their certification program at The American University.

Fellows are required to be continually enrolled in and successfully complete all required university coursework towards their teaching certification within two years of enrolling in the DC Teaching Fellows.

Tuition

Fellows are responsible for paying the cost of tuition at the start of each semester.  Upon successful completion of each course, with verification of a grade of B or better, Fellows will be reimbursed 50% of the cost of the course.  Please note that tuition reimbursement policy does not cover fees or books.

The process for receiving tuition reimbursement can be lengthy.  Fellows should not rely on tuition reimbursement to cover the next semester’s tuition.  It is likely Fellows will not have received the reimbursement before the next semester’s tuition is due.  Fellows may apply for student loans or financial aid.

Fellows who will be taking courses at The American University will have the option to receive substantial discounts on the cost of their tuition by participating in one of two federally funded programs at the university.  Please note that by accepting the reduced tuition rate, Fellows will be asked to commit to two additional years of teaching.  Fellows are not required to accept the reduced tuition.

Earning a Master’s Degree

After completing the academic requirements for certification, Fellows will be nine to twelve credits (depending on cohort and academic program) short of the requirements for a Master's degree in Education. Many of our Fellows choose to complete the full Master’s Degree. While many Fellows choose to complete the Master’s Degree, no tuition reimbursement will be paid by DC Public Schools for courses beyond certification.

For additional information on DCPS licensure, visit www.teachdc.org/requirements.html