Some Clarification on Certification

I asked Gov. Terry Branstad's office to clarify the difference between the "early childhood certificate" that preschool instructors would need to earn under his plan and the requirement for certified teachers in the current state 4-year old program.

Some readers were confused about the difference between certification and certificates. Branstad's spokesman, Tim Albrecht, sent me this answer from the governor's education advisor Linda Fandel:

The Iowa Board of Educational Examiners will put in place the requirements of the new early childhood certificate as soon as possible this summer, so those requirements are not yet fully identified. However, it will include 12 hours of coursework from an accredited institution of higher education in early childhood education among other areas. To teach in a preschool, teachers will need to also have a B.A. Or, if they have an A.A., they have a one-time opportunity to earn a B.A. in three years along with the certificate.To become a licensed teacher, as a rule teachers must earn a baccalaureate degree, complete a teacher preparation program, and complete requirements for a teaching endorsement, (specializing in an area or subject, such as early childhood education, elementary education, math, English, etc.), among other things.

So the certificates are a work in progress. It would be nice to know what the exact requirements will look like before the legislative process starts moving, which will be long before summer. That's a pretty critical part of the plan.

To become a licensed teacher, as a rule teachers must earn a baccalaureate degree, complete a teacher preparation program, and complete requirements for a teaching endorsement, (specializing in an area or subject, such as early childhood education, elementary education, math, English, etc.), among other things.