McKeesport Area School District

Bridge Certificate Program

Survey/Worksheet for Bridge Certificate Program

Please complete the following survey/worksheet and return the Phase 1 Scorecard and supporting documentation by April 1, 2005 to:

Lonnie Carey

McKeesport Area School District

Administrative Office

3590 O’Neil Blvd.

McKeesport, PA  15132

Completing the survey/worksheet will help you get organized and prepare you to apply for the Bridge Certificate Program.

Name___________________________________________________________

Current Assignment________________________ Location_________________

Home address_____________________________________________________

                       _____________________________________________________

Certificate(s) you currently hold_______________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Certificate(s) you are seeking through the Bridge Certificate Program

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

Part I Determining if you are already “Highly Qualified”

If you are already “highly qualified”, nothing further is required.  You do not need to take a PRAXIS test, and you do not need to participate in the Bridge Certificate Program.  However, you are advised to have your status verified with either Lonnie Carey or Michael Brinkos in the Administration Office.

Whether you are “highly qualified” will depend on the:

·        Certification(s) you hold, and

·         Level you teach (elementary or secondary) and the subject(s) you teach.

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) requires that all teachers teaching core academic subjects be highly qualified.  Pennsylvania requires all teachers teaching on the elementary level be certified in elementary (includes early childhood certification for Grades K-3) or special education, and secondary level teacher of core academic areas be content certified to be highly qualified.  The core academic subjects are:

• English                                               Mathematics
• Reading/Language Arts                   Science
• Foreign Languages                          Civics/Government
• Economics                                         Arts (Art and Music)

• History                                                Geography

If you do not teach one of the core academic areas listed above, you do not need to comply with NCLB’s highly qualified requirements.

1.      If any of the statements below apply to you, you are already considered to be “highly qualified” under NCLB with your existing certification. (check all that apply)

____    I teach elementary students (e.g. up to the 6^th grade

             level).

____   I teach secondary-aged students who are learning at

the elementary level (due to cognitive abilities, not                                                                       academic deficits).

                              ____   I provide only supplemental services and am not

                                         considered the “teacher of record” for my students

                                            (i.e. providing support to inclusioned ed students).                           

In addition to the Bridge Certificate Program, two other avenues are available to become “highly qualified”:

                                    a. Pass the PRAXIS test in a content area; or

b. Earn secondary certification in that content area.

                        2.  Please indicate if you have passed the PRAXIS, and for

                             what level; or if you have achieved certification in any

                             of the core content areas listed on the chart.

                        3.  If you are not yet considered to be “highly qualified”, please

                           complete the following question, as well as Part II of the

                           Survey/Worksheet.

                             I am the “teacher of record” for the following core content                                                   areas (circle all that apply):

                             ENGLISH                                                  MATH

                          READING/LANGUAGE ARTS                  SCIENCE

                            SOCIAL STUDIES                                    OTHER:

                          (History, Economics, Geography

                             Civics, Government)                                      ________________________

                             MIDDLE SCHOOL

                           HIGH SCHOOL

Part II: Qualifying for the Bridge Certificate Program

The following section will help determine if you qualify for Phase 1 of the Bridge Certificate Program in a core content area.  Remember that the deadline date to apply for the Program is June 30, 2005; however, you must notify the district by

March 15, 2005, so that the proper information can be verified and submitted to PDE by the deadline.

Note:  12 points are required to qualify for Phase 1.  There are five categories in which you can accumulate points.  Please refer to the “Guidelines and Procedures for the Bridge Certificate Program” (www.pde.state.pa.us) for clarification if needed.  Please transfer the total points from each of the five questions below onto the Phase 1 Score Card (attached).

1.         Satisfactory teaching experience in delivering instruction in the            content area and grade level where certification is sough.

            Points available:       6 points maximum @ 2 points per year

                                                A minimum of 2 points MUST be earned in this area.

            In which years were you the “teacher of record”* in any of the core content

            areas listed below? (check all that apply)  (* “Teacher of record” is a                professional or temporary educator who is assigned by a school entity as

            the primary instructor for a group of students.)

2.         Act 48-approved professional education credits/hours for programs

            completed in the content area where certification is sought.

            Points available:       6 points maximum (1 point=30 continuing education

                                                                                 hours)

            Fill in the numbers of continuing education credits/hours in each core   content area (be able to provide documentation of completion).

            _____     Reading/Language Arts

            _____     English

            _____     Mathematics

            _____     Science

            _____     Social Studies

3.         Undergraduate or graduate college/university credits earned in the

            content area  where certification is sought.  Must be verified with a

            transcript.  Must have received a “C” grade or higher.

            Points available:       10 points maximum (1 point= 1 semester hour credit)

            Note: Use your Act 48 credits/hours as much as possible in Phase 1. 

            Only previously earned college/university credits not used in Phase 1 can      

            be carried over into Phase 2.

            Fill in the numbers of continuing education credits/hours in each core  content area. (Be able to provide documentation of completion).

            _____     Reading/Language Arts

            _____     English

            _____     Mathematics

            _____     Science

            _____     Social Studies

4.         Academic scholarship and/or awards in the content area where             certification is sought.

            Points available:       Varies (see below)

            Please list the points that you have accrued in the Academic Scholarship/

            Award Subsection in each of the core content areas you teach.  Allowable

            Options are as follows: (verification of scholarship/award needs to be

           provided)

• District, state or national teacher of the year in the content area (1 point)
• State or national teaching award in the content area (1 point)
• Authoring a content-area article published in a peer-reviewed journal (1 point)
• Authoring a textbook in the content area (6 points)
• Teaching a credit-bearing course in the content area at a college or

      university(2 points/semester hour)

5.         Specific structured tutoring in the content area and grade level              where certification is sought.  Tutoring program must be for students

            performing below standard and must occur in the district of

           employment during non-instructional time.  Tutoring programs must

            be PDE-approved and evidence of student improvement must be

            verfied.

            Points available:       3 points maximum (2 points=30 hours of tutoring in the

                                                PDE-approved EAP tutoring format.  1 point=30 hours of                                                         tutoring in other PDE-approved tutoring formats.)

Please list the hours and points you have accrued in each of the core content areas

in this tutoring subsection:

Reading/Language Arts                   _____ hours =           _____ points

English                                               _____ hours=            _____ points

Mathematics                                      _____ hours=            _____ points

Science                                              _____ hours=            _____ points

Social Studies                                   _____ hours=            _____ points

6.         TOTAL: What are the total number of points you calculated that you

            can use to apply toward Phase 1 Bridge Certification in each of the

            core content areas you teach?

Please transfer the totals that you have accumulated to the attached Phase 1 Bridge

Certification Score Card.

Remember: You must have a separate Score Card Completed for each content area in

                       which you are seeking certification (see attached).

            Return the Phase 1 Bridge Certification Score Card by April 1, 2005 to:

                                                Lonnie Carey

                                                McKeesport Administrative Office

                                                3590 O’Neil Blvd.

                                                McKeesport, PA  15132

            If you have any questions, contact Lonnie or Michael at lcarey@mckasd.net

Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey/worksheet!

PHASE 1 Bridge Certificate Scorecard

Phase 1: Certification Application Evaluation: To meet the standard, 12 POINTS are required to

Qualify for entrance into the NCLB Bridge Program.  Points can be accumulated and combined in the

Following categories: (Please submit one Score Card per content area)

Applicant Signature:_________________________________________________

Supervisor’s Signature:______________________________________________

Please return by 04/0105 to: Lonnie Carey McKeesport Administrative Office 3590  O’Neil Blvd. McKeesport.

Information on the PRAXIS Assessment

The PRAXIS assessment series has been approved by the Pennsylvania Department of

Education for use in obtaining a teaching certificate or for adding additional subject areas to a teaching certificate.

For the purpose of the Bridge Certificate Program, an educator would need to take the appropriate assessment for the Praxis II: Subject Assessments-Specialty Area Tests if

she/he chooses to pursue that option.  The ones that are available for Pennsylvania educators are as follows:

English

            English Language, Literature & Composition:

                        Content Knowledge