4-12 ELA and 4-12 Social Studies Licenses Approved!

Initial Educator/Traditional Add-On Application Instructions

General Information

We are excited that you are considering pursuing your licensure with the CESA 7 Teacher Development Center! The CESA 7 Initial Educator Program is a two-year accelerated, performance-based, intensive licensure teacher preparation program for emergency licensed teachers who have not yet been awarded a teaching license in any subject. The program is primarily designed for teachers hired in shortage areas. Teachers working in private programs can also apply. Applying to the program usually takes 1-2 weeks. There are several steps to the application process which we will review in sections below.

Acceptance Qualifications

To be considered for entrance to the Teacher Development Center Program, you must:

be hired by a school district in a high-need area with an emergency license or permit
submit a completed Personal Information Packet with a non-refundable Application Fee to CESA 7 with the following documents:
- Professional resume
- Three letters of reference
- A copy of an emergency teaching license or permit and copies of any other licenses held
- A completed background check authorization form
- Proof of a Bachelor’s Degree.
- An official copy of transcripts sent directly to CESA 7 from a degree-granting university with evidence of meeting the undergraduate GPA requirement of 2.75 on a 4.0 scale.
  - If you do not have a 2.75 GPA, we may still be able to help you. Ask us how.
- Validation of school district employment (letter from your school district or copy of your contract)

Step 1 - Complete the Initial Form

Submit your Form

If you meet all the requirements above, it is likely that you will be admitted to the program. As you will soon see, processing your application to the Teacher Development Center requires a significant amount of effort. We do not charge a processing fee to cover the administrative expense of generating your personal program, scholar success plan and all the meetings that we will have with you to ensure you know everything you need to know before committing to the program.

Step 2 - Submit Your Official Transcripts

In order to admit you into the program, we have to substantiate that you meet the program’s 2.75 overall grade point average requirement. Your official transcript is the best way for us to do this. We also use your transcript to give you credit for the required courses. The easiest way to submit your transcript is to have it emailed to jwildenberg@cesa7.org.

Your institution may also mail your sealed transcripts to:

CESA 7

c/o TDC Program Support

595 Baeten Rd.

Green Bay, WI 54304

Step 3 - Submit Your Other Documents

Letters of Reference

We are interested in hearing from your professional references - supervisors and colleagues who have worked with you in the past. It is usually a good idea to have these people address the things that they think will make you a good candidate for the program and a good teacher. You should have your references submit these reference letters in PDF format with signatures directly to the project specialist. Ideally, they should match the references on your information form. However, we understand that sometimes references you listed may not be available. It is acceptable to use a reference not on your information form.

License Information

Every scholar in the program should be an emergency licensed teacher working in a shortage area on an LWS1. Please submit a copy of your PI 1624-LWS1 form which should have been provided to you by the district. If you are not submitting an official copy of your license at the time of application, we expect you to do so when you receive it. You can find instructions for applying for your LWS1 here.

If you are a licensed teacher seeking an additional license, we will need you to submit your current license which allows us to establish your status as an add-on scholar.

Background Check Authorization (form)

State statute stipulates that all school staff members who work with children must pass a background check. This form gives us permission to run that background check to ensure that you don’t have a criminal history that would prevent you from working with children. As a part of your licensing process with the DPI, you may also have to have your fingerprints taken. Fingerprints are handled directly with the DPI.

Proof of Bachelor Degree

In order to enroll in the TDC, you must hold a bachelor's degree from an accredited, degree-granting institution of higher education (IHE). Many people will supply a copy of their diploma to show evidence of a bachelor's degree. However, if your official transcript indicates that you have been conferred with a bachelor's degree, you do not need to submit separate evidence of meeting this requirement.

Information Form (form)

This form provides us with your contact information, school district information, the program you desire to enter, education and work experience, and your reference information. The questions you answer on the form also give us insights about why you want to be a teacher and what you think about teaching and students in general.

The main questions we get about this form are regarding mentors and supervisors. Mentors and supervisors cannot be just anyone. Your mentor should be someone with at least three years of teaching experience that holds a permanent license in the license area you are seeking and who has been in his or her position for at least one year. Supervisors should hold an administrative license.

Proof of District Employment

You will need to provide proof of employment at a school district in the area of your desired licensure. Please submit the following documents:

PI-1624 LWS1 License with Stipulations Form signed by the district
Employment Contract for the current year

Professional Resumé

A professional resume updated within the last 30 days allows us to get to know you as a candidate. There is no particular format required. A couple of pages is usually enough to communicate your work experience, skills and education.

Step 4 - Personal Program Generation

After we receive all your documents, our admissions officer will review them and generate a personal program for you. This personal program will list all the requirements to successfully complete your program, including

any needed assessments
coursework
student teaching requirements.
credit for previous coursework
- With sufficient evidence, you may also be awarded credit for training you completed outside of college. However, this rarely happens as we have specific requirements for training we will accept.

The personal program will serve as your transcript and will be submitted to the DPI as evidence of your completion of the program when you apply for your permanent teaching license.

Step 5 - Scholar Success Plan Generation

When the admissions officer completes the plan, he forwards it to the Project Specialist who will then generate your scholar success plan. The purpose of this document is to put the requirements listed in your personal program into a chronological plan that will help keep you on track. Most success plans cover a two year period. The scholar success plan also lists the costs associated with each course as well as the overall program costs. This will help you plan for your future costs. It is important to note that the costs of the program are not eligible for student loans or tax exemptions as we are not a degree-granting institution.

Step 6 - Plan Review and Acceptance

After your personal program and scholar success plan have been generated, you will be invited to meet with the scholar advisor. The purpose of this meeting is to review your personal program and plan and answer any questions you may have about them. If you agree to move forward with enrollment, we will send you your plan documents for signature and you will enter the final phase of enrollment.

Step 7 - District Agreement

It is important that your district understand their responsibilities in supporting you in your program. For this reason, we send out a district agreement listing those responsibilities and asking the members of your support team (mentor, supervisor, district administrative staff member) to affirm that they understand and agree to support you.

Program Maintenance and Support

We are here to support you throughout your licensing journey. In our program, we will provide you with:

In-person and online advisor support to ensure you stay on track in your program
In-person and online support from a coordinator throughout the licensing process
Classroom observations by the coordinator and/or TDC instructors/supervisors for evaluations of effective teaching based on the Danielson Framework
Periodic meetings to provide information and support for candidates in the program and enhance ongoing communication and collaboration
Portfolio creation appropriate to the Wisconsin PI 34 licensure process
Compliance in meeting all DPI requirements for Teacher Performance Assessment Initiatives

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