Requirements for ECE Teacher Certification in Utah
When low-income women become mothers, their chief barrier to economic autonomy and success hinges on one issue: childcare. That was the result of a 2017 survey of Utahans that was addressed by the 2018 state legislature in a bill titled, Early Care and Learning Coordination. The bill aims to help mothers with children aged birth-5 years.
In fact, according to University of Chicago's Nobel prize-winning economist, James Heckman, when communities provide care and preschool for children in this age group, they receive a benefit. Not only are the children healthier and happier, but the community sees a financial gain of up to 10%.
In fact, Utah has seen evidence of this firsthand. The state's High-Quality Preschool Program has already dramatically reduced the need for Special Education services, a fact that will save the state millions in the short-run and result in higher-producing citizens long-term.
How to Become an ECE Preschool Teacher in Utah
To become an Early Childhood Education teacher in Utah, there are a few steps. The pathway isn't so different from other states in that, you’ll need to complete a state-approved teacher-preparation program, pass a standardized examination, and provide supporting documents that attest to your character. There are a few quirks to how Utah provides licensure, so be aware of those if you are coming from out-of-state.
Step 1. Earn Your Degree
The most important step along your way to the head of the classroom is your bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education. In Utah, you'll find that most schools which offer a teacher-preparation program are state-approved. This means that you will be well-prepared for lifelong success as an educator once you complete your education. The program will make sure that you take the courses required by the state and that you have a student teaching experience. The experiential learning period will pair you with a mentor who can ensure that you are ready for your own class.
During your four years in college, you'll take courses that include, but are not limited to:
Human Development
Exceptional Child
Classroom Management
Intro to Education
Finally, to complete the education portion of your licensure application, you will need a letter of recommendation from the dean of your teacher-preparation program. This will codify your academic record with an assurance that you are indeed prepared and suitable for the profession.
Step 2. Pass Your Exams
Utah, like many states, requires that you take PRAXIS examinations that stand as capstones to your education. For each content area, there is at least one PRAXIS exam. Some career tracks, such as Elementary Education, require that you take multiple subject tests. For Early Childhood Education, Utah offers a choice. You can take Early Childhood Education (PRAXIS code 5025,) which is a single two-hour exam, or you can take Elementary Education: Multiple Subjects (PRAXIS code 5001) which consists of four separate exams that you may take individually. These tests breakdown as such:
Early Childhood Education (5025) – two-hour exam
Language and Literacy – 30%
Mathematics – 25%
Social Studies – 14%
Science – 14%
Health and Physical Education; Creative and Performing Arts – 17%
Elementary Education: Multiple Subjects (5001)
Reading and Language Arts (5002) – 90 minute exam
Reading – 47%
Writing, Speaking, and Listening – 53%
Mathematics (5003) – 65 minute exam
Numbers and Operations – 40%
Algebraic Thinking – 30%
Geometry and Measurement, Data, Statistics, and Probability – 30%
Social Studies (5004) – 60 minute exam
United States History – 45%
Geography, Anthropology, and Sociology – 30%
World History and Economics – 25%
Science (5005) – 60 minute exam
Earth Science – 33%
Life Science – 33%
Physical Science – 33%
Note that the Multiple Subjects test may be taken all at once by selecting exam code 5001 at your testing center. However, you may take the parts individually. You will find that these tests are used for any elementary education certification level, whether that is K-3, K-6, or 1-8.
Step 3. Standards and Qualifications
Additionally, the state requires that you submit to a background check by both state and federal (FBI) law enforcement and complete an Ethics Review. This will include fingerprinting. If you have infractions on your record, you should account for those with a letter that details the nature of the incident and how you have rectified the matter. Describe how you fulfilled the court's requirements, including the completion of any community service, probation, or other sentencing, including receipts for paid fines, etc.
For the Ethics Review, you can find that online at the Utah State Board of Education's Online License System. Look for the link to Educator Ethics Review and then follow the prompts. The review is composed of 25 multiple-choice questions that should take no more than 30 minutes to complete.
Why Teach?
Teaching is a special profession. No teacher ends up in the profession without having heard a calling to work with children. Not only is the pathway to the classroom long and difficult, but the job itself is highly demanding. You need to have a true passion for working with children and have a deep desire to see them succeed, or else you will not last very long in the classroom.
However, people seek and remain in the profession for their entire working lives because they love it. They love the special feeling that comes from those educational victories, when a student's eyes light up and their little chests swell with pride at a job well done. The victories come in a myriad of forms and are different for every teacher and student. You will know it when it happens. When it does, you'll never look back, because every other option out there will seem like a mere job.
Potential Credentials, Requirements, and Certifications Needed in Utah
Alternate Routes to Licensure (ARL):
If you have a bachelor's degree but not from a teacher-preparation program and now wish to teach in Utah schools, you may work through an alternative licensure program. You'll need to apply to the program, be hired for a teaching assignment, and begin participation in the ARL Professional Growth Plan (PGP).
Reading: To achieve this certification, you need to show that you have completed coursework that satisfies the Board in seven different areas:
Foundations of Literacy Instruction
Reading and Writing Across the Disciplines
Reading Assessment & Instructional Interventions
K-12 Literacy Processes and Practices
Reading Comprehension Instruction
Writing Instruction
Literature & Informational Texts for Children and Adolescents
You will also need to take and pass the Praxis Teaching Reading 5204 examination with a score of 159 or better.
Specialization Additional Certifications
Special Education:
SPED is a broad umbrella that covers a range of services. In Utah, you can be certified to teach deaf, blind, and those with disabilities ranging from mild to profound. Note that the ‘Mild/Moderate’ is covered by a separate endorsement not covered by a ‘Severe to Profound’ endorsement.
Administrative/Supervisory:
After five years in the classroom, you might wish to move into a new area of education and guide student outcomes with more of a big-picture influence. To become a principal, you will need a master's degree and the appropriate PRAXIS test scores, but then you'll mentor teachers, be a role model for all of your students, and even guide curricular decisions.
Gifted and Talented:
Even the smartest children need special, focused attention in order to feel engaged with their schoolwork. The standard curriculum is often not up to their needs, so you'll need to introduce challenges to keep them stimulated. Otherwise, gifted students may become bored and disaffected with education.
To qualify for this endorsement, you will need 16 credit hours of specialized university coursework. Your courses should all be current and no older than eight years old. Further, all courses should be at the 5000 level or above. A sample of courses you might take include:
Identification/Assessment in Gifted Education
Social Emotional Needs of the Gifted
Creativity Course
Field Experience/Practicum
Art/Music:
You'll need to demonstrate your abilities in your specialty area. You will need a portfolio that demonstrates your competency in your specialty area. Musicians might include video of a performance or some other recording.
Utah Preschool Teacher Careers Options
Public schools –
Utah's public-school system is likely to be your first employer since teacher-preparation programs are geared to steer students in this direction. There's a good reason, too, as the public schools are well-equipped, provide a solid compensation, and are in every Utah town.
Private childcare –
This is an occupation that many future teachers opt for when in college or as recent graduates. In this position, you will take care of a family's children in a role that can range from standard childcare to in-home preschool provider. If you speak a second language, parents may ask you to help expose their young ones to that new tongue.
Private schools –
This career option can be great for teachers who need smaller class sizes and even greater control over the curriculum. While you won't find quite the same consistency between private schools that you might between public schools, you are more likely to find a familial, accessible environment.
Head Start programs –
This federal Early Childhood Education program started in the mid-1960's and has been providing excellent care for low-income children ever since. Head Start's hiring practices don't always require state teaching licensure, but that will certainly help you land a position.
Community-based programs –
If you want to create innovative programs that operate outside the box of Early Childhood Education, you might want to start or join a community-based program. These programs offer a range of activities for children, from art and music to sports teams and child-led instruction.
Faith-based programs –
If the public school's secular approach is not to your liking, you might find a faith-based preschool or elementary program through your local synagogue, church, mosque, or temple. You might also find a faith-based school that is affiliated with a specific religion, yet not in the same physical space.
Military programs –
Once you have attained your Utah teaching credentials, you can explore the military option. If you wish to see the world, you might enjoy being stationed on a base in countries such as Germany or Japan, or exotic domestic locales such as Alaska or Hawaii. You won't ever need to make a military commitment, but your presence on the base will be appreciated by all of the parents.
Early Childhood Education Teaching Salaries in Utah
Preschool Teacher –
There's something special about educators who specialize in preschool. They have a chance to mold children from the very earliest days and their impact persists for a lifetime.
Elementary School Teacher –
Once you have a Utah elementary teaching certificate, you can teach a range of ages. In Utah, your license will initially cover grades K-6. If you'd like to expand your repertoire to incudes grades 1-8, you will need a secondary endorsement.
Professor of Education –
Teaching college aged students presents its own level of satisfaction. That is, if you are enamored with the very act of learning and teaching, you can attain a master's or doctoral degree to teach post-secondary courses. Many teachers turn to college/university teaching later in their career, when they feel a call to share their classroom wisdom with younger generations of educators.
School Principal –
After five or more years in the classroom, you might decide to move up into administration. This is simply another approach to teaching children. You'll need a master's degree and the ability to manage not only a staff of professional educators, but hundreds of students, as well.
Special Education Teacher –
Special Education classrooms can include a wide range of students, each with profoundly different needs. Some may have emotional disturbances while others may be hearing impaired, blind, or have a profound cognitive disorder. Regardless, each student in your class is special and eager to learn and grow.
ESL Teacher –
Many families seek asylum in the United States. They flee oppression and other hardships at home. Their children thus need to navigate our English-dominant culture. They need language skills both for themselves and their parents, who often don't have easy access to
ESL courses.
School Psychologist –
Even little children need an open ear to hear their problems. They may have trouble at home or with their peers. Regardless, when you can help them overcome their difficulties, their lives will open up to new possibilities.
Utah instructors in addition share insights as well as additional details through their individual blog site sites. Ship Shape First Grade is written by a first-grade educator that shares tales worrying her class experiences and the enjoyable activities she does each day. Enjoyable for Preliminary is maintained by a first-grade trainer that takes pleasure in creating in addition to sharing her classroom pointers.
Before getting a licensure, Utah asks for all prospective instructors to have a Bachelor's level or higher. The state similarly has requirements that specify the number of undergraduate credit record hrs necessary for certification. A Level 1 authorization is the Preliminary Utah professional teacher authorization. It is given to prospects that have fulfilled all state requirements, made passing rankings on perfect Praxis II web content tests, obtained recommendation from an approved organization of university along with ending up a licensed trainer prep work program.
The Degree 3 authorization is a Utah professional instructor license launched to instructors that hold an existing Utah Degree 2 license as well as have actually likewise gotten National Board Certification or made a Doctorate in Education and learning or in a field related to their material area. A level 3 permit is reputable for 7 years
Trainees that want to wind up being elementary school teachers generally significant in education and likewise take a selection naturally in topics advised for qualities Kindergarten with 6. The second training certification is needed for teaching grades 6 with twelve. A second certification calls for the teacher to select a location of concentration, as well as likewise second accreditations bring endorsements for the locations in which the owner is accredited.
During their undergraduate research studies, prospective senior high school instructors generally choose to concentrate on a particular topic, such as English, foreign language, mathematics, background or biology, which allows them to be certified to instruct that subject in intermediate schools or secondary schools. Enthusiastic high school instructors pursuing accreditation in Utah follow either instructional courses: They can major in the subject they prepare to inform while likewise completing the required variety of education and learning as well as discovering programs.
Considering that 2010, teachers in Utah have in fact been needed to achieve the "Really Certified" teacher category so as to get a permit to educate in the state. Utah's existing policy needs teachers to satisfy extra testing required in order to gain certifications required to enlighten No Youngster Left Behind subject training programs in core scholastic locations.
The state does not call for a conventional capacities evaluation for mentor credentials. Nevertheless, Utah needs teachers to pass the Praxis II: Concepts of Finding in addition to Training evaluation as well as the Praxis II discipline abilities examination prior to they can be accredited. Out-of-state candidates can acquire equivalent qualification, as long as all Utah licensing demands have really been satisfied.
Utah will definitely approve training credentials from all states other than Alaska, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, South Dakota, Wisconsin along with Wyoming. Utah Division of Education Alternative Path to Licensure (ARL) A bachelor's degree or higher from an acknowledged college company in a self-control of quality degree appropriate to the setting being looked for.
Utah teachers in addition share insights as well as also info using their individual blog site sites. Ship Forming First Grade is written by a first-grade educator that shares stories worrying her course experiences and the enjoyable activities she does daily. Enjoyable for First is kept by a first-grade teacher that gets a kick out of establishing along with sharing her class ideas.
Before obtaining a licensure, Utah requires all potential teachers to have a Bachelor's level or greater. The state also has prerequisites that define the variety of undergraduate credit rating record hrs vital for certification. A Level 1 permit is the Preliminary Utah professional teacher authorization. It is given to candidates that have satisfied all state requirements, made passing rankings on perfect Praxis II material tests, acquired pointer from a recognized organization of university in addition to finishing an accredited instructor prep work program.
Many parents ask, what education is required to be a preschool teacher in Utah? The requirements for this job are different from those needed by other schools. The curriculum used to educate preschoolers, as well as the knowledge and skills of the teachers must meet federal guidelines.
Prekindergarten teachers teach pre-school kids and are called "preschool teachers". Preschool teachers typically have a bachelor's degree and a four-year bachelor's degree program at an accredited institution.
In most public schools, pre-school teachers are required to take part in a classroom teaching career training program before they can apply for a teaching job in public schools. Most schools offer this in a summer program or an after school program. In a typical classroom teaching career training program, pre-teacher students will learn the theory of teaching and how to prepare classroom equipment. In addition to this, teachers will also learn the importance of discipline, and how to motivate children to work well with their classmates and teachers.
It is always a good idea to have a copy of a written recommendation from someone who has been in the same position as you and knows your capabilities. This will help you gain employment with a much higher salary than what you would get in a typical school environment.
On your application for a public school teaching job, it is important to have a list of your academic achievements and certificates. These will be required for the state licensing exam that will be administered after you graduate from the training program. You will need to have your certification in hand when applying for a teaching position in Utah.
It is a requirement for public schools in Utah that any student who wants to teach in that school has a high school diploma or GED. In addition to this, it is also necessary for a preschool teacher to hold a bachelor's degree. In addition to being required, many Utah schools also require that you hold an associate's degree from an accredited institution.
There are many online colleges that are willing to teach you the things you need to know about teaching. As you complete the program, you will also have the opportunity to earn online degrees.
It is possible to teach in your spare time in many states but it is not always possible to fit a full-time, part-time schedule around your family. In some cases, you may be able to teach as an adjunct teacher in an urban school while you are working at home. When you choose an online college, you will be able to earn the degrees you need and still be able to work with your family.
Many parents are very grateful that they can now help their children succeed in school without having to sacrifice a lot of time with them. By getting the education that you need, you can be sure that your kids will have a bright future when they leave school.
The key to being hired for a Utah public school teaching job is by presenting yourself well. Your resume should have a strong professional image and demonstrate your ability to teach the subjects that are required of you.
A good resume should be as detailed as possible because it is the first impression your employer will get of you. In addition to this, you will need to include all the relevant information including academic achievements and educational certifications. It is also important to write a letter that will impress them and make you stand out above the rest.
What education is needed to be a preschool teacher in Utah is an important aspect of any career. Take advantage of all the opportunities available to you.
Accredited Early Childhood Educator Teacher Preparation Programs
Regional accreditation is offered from US department of education-approved agencies. The agency offering accreditation in Utah is called the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. You’ll want to make sure that this accreditation is part of any school in which you choose to enroll. Without this accreditation it’s unlikely you’ll be able to receive your educators license. On top of this regional accreditation you can look for accreditation from teacher accreditation agencies such as the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) or the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).
Here are some accredited schools in Utah.
Brigham Young – Provo, UT
Degrees Offered:
Bilingual and Multilingual Education: Dr.
Early Childhood Education: Bachelor's
Education: Master's
Elementary Education and Teaching: Bachelor's
Music Teacher: Bachelor's
Special Education: Bachelor's, Master's
ESL Teaching: Master’s
Accreditation By:
Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
Utah State Board of Education
TEAC
Southern Utah University
Degrees Offered:
Elementary Education and Teaching: Master's
Education, general: Master's & Undergraduate Certificate
Special Education: Bachelor's, Master's
Accreditation By:
Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
Utah State Board of Education
CAEP
University of Utah
Degrees Offered:
Early Childhood Education: Master's
Elementary Education: Bachelor's
Educational Leadership and Administration: Master's, Doctoral
Special Education: Bachelor's, Master's, Doctoral
Teaching English as a Second Language: Postgraduate Certificate
Accreditation By:
Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
Utah State Board of Education
CAEP
Weber State University
Degrees Offered:
Education: Associate's
Special Education: Bachelor's
Elementary Education: Bachelor's, Master's
Early Childhood Education: Bachelor's
Accreditation By:
Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
Utah State Board of Education
TEAC