Undergraduate Field-Based and Teacher Certification Programs

Download the field-based teacher candidate handbook for details and expectations regarding the educator preparation program at East Texas A&M.

A student must be admitted to the Undergraduate Educator Preparation Program (EPP) to be approved to enroll in specialization coursework, as indicated on the student's DegreeWorks.

You must meet the following requirements to gain admission to the Undergraduate Educator Preparation Program (EPP):

1. Overall GPA must be 2.65
2. Have a minimum of 12 semester credit hours in the subject-specific content area for the certification sought, i.e. Core Subjects, ELAR, Social Studies, etc. A minimum of 15 semester credit hours is required for certification sought in Mathematics or Science, i.e. 4-8 Math or Science, and 7-12 Math or Science.
3. TSI Complete – demonstrate basic skills in reading, written communication, and mathematics;
4. Accept offer of admission to the Undergraduate Educator Preparation Program (EPP) by completing an Acceptance Survey in Tk20, by designated deadline.

Application Process:

The application for admission to the Undergraduate Educator Preparation Program (EPP) is housed in Tk20. A student must purchase Tk20 and obtain an account to access the application. See below:

If you have any problems purchasing or creating your Tk20 account, please contact Jill Woodruff, Tk20 Unit Administrator: [email protected]

Undergraduate Educator Preparation Program (EPP) Application Instructions:

Once your application for admission to the EPP has been reviewed and approved, you will receive an Acceptance Survey in Tk20 to finalize the admission process. You must complete and submit the Acceptance Survey by the designated deadline, to finalize formal admission to the Undergraduate Educator Preparation Program (EPP).

For initial teacher certification, the candidate must complete field based experience classroom observation for a minimum of 50 clock hours prior to assignment for clinical student teaching.

The field based experience must include classroom observation and actively engaged activities.

Assignments for the field based experience will be made by the Department of Curriculum & Instruction, in a pre-approved TEA accredited public school.

The application for student teaching is housed in Tk20. Students must have a Tk20 account in order to make application for student teaching. Students must apply for their student teaching placement in the Field-Based Teacher Education program during the spring/fall semester prior to beginning internship. The application process begins first class day of the semester, and is only available during a designated timeframe. Applications must be submitted in Tk20 by the designated due date. Applications may not be processed past this date. Students should contact their major advisor for questions concerning readiness to apply for student teaching.

NOTE: An applicant may not be placed on a campus as an intern or resident in which a family member is employed, i.e. principal, teacher, educational aide, custodian, etc. Placement in such a situation is a conflict of interest and is not permissible.

Placement in a student's first district choice is not guaranteed. Placement in any school district is contingent upon the number of applicants requesting a specific district, and the availability of available mentors. Placement in a student's second district choice may be necessary to secure an internship placement for student teaching.

The following must be met to be approved to student teach:

● Full admission into the Field-Based Teacher Education program (interview process and determination completed during ELED/SED 300);

• Documented 50 hours of Field Based Experiences(please include this statement right under the above statement on the webpage).

● Receive departmental approval from respective academic department (obtained by teacher certification staff). Note: A department may prevent a student from interviewing or beginning internship for academic or professional behavioral reasons. In addition, a department may require higher GPA and/or course grade requirements;

● Satisfactory completion of the basic skills requirements: Candidates must be TSI complete in reading, math and writing to be approved for student teaching.

● Senior standing (completion of approximately 80 semester hours of college coursework);

● Meet overall GPA requirements – 2.75 GPA required;

● Complete required interdisciplinary core, specialization, and professional development coursework, with a grade of “C” or better, and required GPA as follows: EC-6 and 4-8 – GPA of 2.75 required; Secondary/EC-12 – GPA of 2.75 required.

● Mandatory participation in partnership district interviews. A successful interview resulting in a placement is required to complete student teaching.

The following must be met to obtain approval to complete residency:

● Completion of all required interdisciplinary core, specialization, and professional development coursework, with grade of “C” or better, and GPA of 2.75;

● Continue to meet overall GPA requirements – GPA of 2.75 required;

● Pass the Content TExES Exam for your certification area

● The student teaching candidate is required to have personal transportation to meet the attendance demands of both internship and residency, i.e. two days in the district during internship and five days in the district during residency.

An essential part of the application process is a successful interview with a partnership school district. The following districts are partners in the field-based program. Unless otherwise indicated, they interview all certification levels and accept interns in both the fall and spring semesters. All placements are tentative until prerequisites have been met.

NOTE: Sites are subject to elimination or combining based on number of applicants.

Partnership School Districts

Collin Higher Education Center (CHEC)

• Allen ISD
• Anna ISD
• Frisco ISD
• Lovejoy ISD
• McKinney ISD
• Prosper ISD
• Wylie ISD

Corsicana Center

• Corsicana ISD
• Ennis ISD
• Ferris ISD
• Mabank ISD
• Mexia ISD
• Red Oak ISD
• Waxahachie ISD

Dallas Center

• Cedar Hill ISD
• Dallas ISD
• Lancaster ISD

East Texas Center

• Caddo Mills ISD
• Commerce ISD
• Greenville ISD
• Paris area
  • Paris ISD
  • Chisum ISD
  • North Lamar ISD
• Sulphur Springs ISD

Mesquite Metroplex Center

• Mesquite ISD
• Rockwall ISD
• Royse City ISD

NOTE: Sites are subject to elimination or combining based on number of applicants.

The applications for Spring 2025 student teaching are available in Tk20 during the Fall 2024 semester, and may be accessed in Tk20. The application will be available until 12:00 midnight, Sunday, February 4^th. Late submissions will not be accepted. Once the application closes, it will not be reopened for late submissions.

Applications are housed in TK20.

Please read the following information carefully!

STEP 1: LOGIN TO YOUR TK20 STUDENT ACCOUNT

If you do not have a TK20 student account you may purchase one, one of two ways.

• Contact the University Bookstore (students qualifying for Financial Aid may opt to purchase through the Bookstore)
• Login to TK20 and set up your student account by clicking on “Click here to register your student account” – Located on the left-hand side at the bottom.

STEP 2: CREATE AN APPLICATION

1. Go to the Applications tab located in the left side menu.
2. Click on the green “Create New Application” button.
3. Select the “Application for Field-Based Student Teaching” from the dropdown menu and then hit the green “Next” button.
4. Complete the application as directed. Any fields with an asterisk (*) must be filled in before the system will let you submit.
5. Once you have started an application, you have 3 options:
   • Save: You can click this at any time and return at a later time to finish the application.
   • Submit: This will submit your application for final review. Edit before submitting!
   • Cancel: Use this to exit the application without saving any changes.
6. Note: If you do NOT see the name of the application you need to complete, you may be attempting to complete it AFTER its due date has passed
7. Once you have submitted an application, it may not be recalled. Please check for correct spelling, accuracy, and district selection(s) while completing the application for student teaching.

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STEP 3: TO CHECK STATUS OF A SUBMITTED APPLICATION

Click on the submitted application’s hyperlink in “My Applications.” Then click on the “Review” tab. This will show your application status.

INTERVIEW DATES FOR SPRING 2025 PLACEMENT

Reminders of scheduled interviews will not be sent by teacher certification staff. Attendance at an interview is mandatory for placement within a district. Please attend your first interview choice only. If you are not placed in your first choice district, you will be notified.

Note: Placements in any location are dependent upon numbers. East Texas A&M reserves the right to combine or eliminate locations based on low numbers

Secondary/All-Level Applicants do not currently participate in the interview process. Please reach out to Mitzi Hughes if you have questions regarding your secondary placement.

NOTE: Placements in any location are dependent upon numbers. East Texas A&M reserves the right to combine or eliminate locations based on low numbers.

When will I know if I've been placed?

You will receive your tentative placement via phone or e-mail.

The application for Spring 2025 Educational Aide student teaching opens on September 3, 2024. The deadline to apply for Spring 2025 student teaching 12:00 p.m. midnight, Monday, October 28, 2024.

The State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) has established a totally paperless, online process for filing for educator certification in Texas.

If you have questions or difficulty with regard to the SBEC web page, you may contact the certification office for assistance.

EDUCATOR CERTIFICATE APPLICATION PROCEDURES FOR THE FIELD-BASED PROGRAM

Please read all requirements and procedures below prior to accessing the online standard certification application.

After completion of ALL degree and certification requirements, students must apply for the teaching certificate online through their TEAL account.

Requirements that must be met prior to applying for certification:

1. Continued admission and retention in the Teacher Education Program.
2. Successful completion of all requirements listed on the degree or deficiency plan, including required GPA's and appropriate tests (i.e., ExCET/TExES and TOPT).

Note: Degree must be conferred by the university.

Application Procedures:

• Log-in to TEAL (Click on “Request New User Account” if you are a first-time user.)
• Click on the tab APPLICATIONS
• Click on STANDARD CERTIFICATE
• Click APPLY FOR CERTIFICATION
• Fill in all sections of the application.
• On the field that says “I request to be recommended by this Entity” Undergraduate Teacher Certification Candidates Select: TEXAS A&M University-Commerce (University Based)

Note: If you select the incorrect university, East Texas A&M University will not have access to see your application. If you do not select the “university based” option you will have to submit another application and there will be a delay in university processing.

• When all information has been entered, click on APPLY.
• Pay appropriate fees, including the application fee and fingerprinting fee.
• Complete the fingerprinting process.
• Use the tab labeled APPLICATION STATUS to make sure that your payment was processed. You can also use this tab to check your application status at a future date.

* You will receive an email confirmation from SBEC after the university has completed its recommendation. Once all activities have successfully been performed, SBEC will process the issuing of the certificate. The certificate will be issued and placed on the TEAL website under the “View Certificates.” Paper certificates are no longer issued by the SBEC. Your official certificate is online and you can print a copy.

Questions regarding the processing of applications for standard certification can be directed to [email protected].

Note: Records that are not fully processed within 60 days will be deleted. If deleted, you will be required to file again through SBEC