Certification

Corps members, like all public school teachers, must receive a teaching credential before they are hired by a school district or individual school, and they must meet specific requirements to be considered “highly qualified,” as required by federal law. Each state sets its own standards that corps members must meet in order to obtain a credential and to be considered “highly qualified.” In most states, corps members must pass a content-knowledge test and/or have taken specific college courses completed for a major or minor, and take ongoing coursework at a local college or university while they are teaching. In many of our regions, corps members have the option of completing a master’s degree by the end of their two-year teaching commitment.

Since corps members have not completed a formal course of study in education before teaching, they are considered “nontraditional” teachers in most states, and the credentials they receive are typically referred to as “alternative” certificates or licenses.

Corps members are assigned to regions based on their stated preferences and their ability to meet states’ credentialing standards. Staff members in each of our regions work to ensure that corps members meet these standards and receive their credentials before teaching. Certification costs, including tuition at local colleges or universities, vary widely by region. Corps members use their AmeriCorps grants to cover at least some, if not all, of these costs. Some states and districts provide additional financial assistance, but in other cases, corps members must cover the remaining costs.

Find out more details by visiting the certification section of each region's page