All corps members without a valid New York State teaching license must enroll with our graduate partner, in order to be legally certified to teach. We have worked with Relay for many years to align coursework to meet the needs of our corps members and to ensure each teacher is on the path to certification.
If you are a pre-certified corps member, please see the question below "What if I am already certified to teach in New York State or another state?"
We currrenlty have a partnership with Relay Graduate School. Teach for America co-created a program with Relay so that their program complements your participation in Teach for America programming. We also are able to subsidize your tuition and ensure you are receiving the correct certification.
There are multiple reasons for this:
The program must be approved “alternative” programs in the state of New York that provide Master’s degrees in education. Of the approved programs, we partner with Relay, which is able to offer an affordable and high-quality program that is conducive to the schedule of a first and second year teacher.
We are able to offset some finances and allow for corps members to use their AmeriCorps awards with our partner program.
Finally, Relay and TFA share the belief that teaching is an immense act of leadership that requires both excellent teaching and a focus on culturally responsive education.
Graduate schools nominate their students for a Transitional-B teaching license which is the legal certifying document you will need to teach in the classroom.
Enrollment in a Master’s Degree in Education (in whatever you are teaching) is a New York State requirement for teachers who are new to the teaching profession. It ensures NYS that those entering the teaching profession (who did not attend a "traditional" program) are receiving the support they need as they take the "alternative" route to teaching certification. Your graduate program is a major source of the content and pedagogical support you’ll need in your classroom. You build a professional community while receiving comprehensive support inside and outside of your classroom
You will not be required to attend for certification courses since you are pre-certified. However, you still must enroll in Relay as a pre-certified corps member to be able to receive 1:1 instructional support from a faculty advisor, and enroll in classroom observations and student data courses. There will be no tuition associated with enrolling in these courses, so you will not have out-of-pocket costs. You are able to enroll in another graduate school program, as long as it does not interfere with your teaching schedule and Relay coursework for classroom observations and student data.
You will receive an email from Keun-woo outlining next steps for corps members who are planning to be certified in NY by June 2022. If you have questions about this, email Keun-woo at newyorkregion@teachforamerica.org. If for some reason you have not shared this with us yet then please email Keun-woo ASAP.
Your program will be determined by your license area which correlates to what you are specifically teaching at your school.
A corps member teaching 8th grade general education needs a New York State teaching license of "Middle Childhood 5-9." This means that this corps member must be enrolled at Relay in their "Middle Childhood Generalist" program for their Masters of Art in Teaching.
A corps member teaching 7th grade special education needs to be in a dual certified cohort to obtain a New York State teaching license for both general education (Middle Childhood 5-9) and special education (Special Education 7-12). This means that this corps member must be enrolled at Relay in their dual certification SPED cohort for "Adolescent 7-12 and Middle Childhood 5-9" program for their Masters of Teaching.
These requirements ensure corps members are legally eligible and certified to teach in New York State.
You must be enrolled and in good standing with our graduate school partner. In order to legally teach in the state of New York, you must be enrolled in your graduate program with a transitional-B license pursuing your Initial Certification. Failure to be enrolled in a graduate program and meet certification requirements may result in dismissal from your school and the corps as you will not be in legal standing in the state of New York. We expect corps members to stay enrolled in the program throughout their two year commitment and complete it on time.
Yes, you must apply to graduate school, but Teach For America staff helps to streamline the process to benefit both you and the program. In fact, you should only apply once Teach For America staff have triggered you to do so. You must submit an application in order to enroll in graduate school.
At the onset of the application period, we will provide a guide that outlines required supplemental materials and their deadlines. These materials include, but are not limited to, an essay, immunization forms and degree-conferred transcripts. Please note that during fall 2023, our graduate school partner will conduct a final audit of degree-conferred transcripts and notify you of any additional courses you may need for your license area, according to NY state certification requirements.
If your undergraduate GPA is at least 2.5, you’ll be asked to submit a single recommendation on your application to our graduate school partner.
If your undergraduate GPA is below 2.5, you are not eligible for admissions to Relay’s MAT or Teacher Certification programs. You must reach out to Teach For America as soon as possible via newyorkregion@teachforamerica.org to update them on your GPA so they can discuss next steps.
View the Relay Major Chart on the Applying to Relay GSE Page for information on which major you should select when completing the Relay application.
Corps members attend classes during the week and on some weekends. There is typically one week of coursework in the summer between your two years. In a typical enrollment:
● Class one day during the week (Monday-Thursday) approximately every other week and two Saturdays* a month OR
● Class one day during the week (Monday-Thursday) every week.
Students in a dual certification program have class every week, Saturday classes, and an additional week of summer coursework. Ultimately, the program is part-time and designed for "alternative" candidates who are currently teaching. *If you are a Sabbath observer, you will be able to connect with Relay to indicate your preference for attending class weeknights rather than on Saturdays.
Yes, you will have coursework over the summer of 2023. Please reach out to your graduate school about the schedule once you are enrolled.
Teach For America offsets a portion of your tuition and corps members who are eligible to receive an AmeriCorps education award can use the award towards their tuition. Taking these factors into account, out-of-pocket expenses associated with attending graduate school will range from $5k to 10k for corps members who are enrolled in AmeriCorps, depending on teaching position and eligibility for federal grants, each year.
While TFA does subsidize a portion of your tuition AND provide an AmeriCorps education award, there is still an out-of-pocket portion corps members must pay. This will be about $6700 each year. Historically, corps members have used some or all of the following sources to cover this tuition:
Budgeting salary
Financial aid services through Relay
FAFSA (Relay code: 042086)
Private Scholarships
The upfront costs will be due at the beginning of each semester, but the bulk of your tuition is not due until after your first year of school. Relay is aware you will receive your AmeriCorps after the first year of service and so they allow for deferred payment.
Corps members can apply for FAFSA to help over out-of-pocket costs associated with graduate school tuition. Our graduate school partnership is with Relay Graduate School of Education. If you are trying to secure FAFSA for the 2022-23 school year, please list Relay Graduate School of Education. If you have questions regarding other financial aid opportunities provided by Relay, please contact their Student Financial Services.
Once enrollment begins, we will share more information with you on how to connect directly with Relay.