NAU program offers way in for teachers who may be forced out

Northern Arizona University-Yuma is providing emergency certified teachers a way to become highly qualified and remain in the profession beyond the end of the academic year, said a university official.

For all teachers issued emergency teaching certificates (ETCs), July 1 would have been the end of their careers because the federal No Child Left Behind Act ruled certificates will not be issued in Title 1 schools, Doug Rutan, NAU-Yuma education coordinator, said.

Title 1 schools are those with high concentrations of low-income students. In 1965, Congress passed the Secondary Education Act (Title1) with the aim of closing the achievement gap between low-income and other students and so identified schools that are entitled to financial assistance.

And since the majority of Yuma schools are designated as Title 1, that would make 300 ETCs no longer valid in Yuma County, Rutan said.

To make up for the shortage of highly qualified teachers, NAU, along with the Arizona Department of Education and local school districts, is participating in an effort called Teacher Intern Program (TIP). Rutan said he is starting with the high schools and meeting with all the emergency certified teachers to see if they qualify for certification.

"If all they're lacking is AEPA (Arizona Education Proficiency Exam), we'll provide three more tests between now and fall," Rutan said. "NAU is also providing a classes as well as tutorials, Saturday morning study sessions right before exams that seems to help them pass the test."

To become highly qualified, teachers must pass AEPA in both general education and the content area they intend to teach, Rutan said.

In addition to TIP, there is the Arizona Universities Network (AZUN), a teacher certification program for math and science available to those who already hold a degree in math, science, forestry, engineering or a technology field and wish to earn a secondary teaching certification.

Despite efforts to get ETCs certified as highly qualified, some will not be able to make the transition because they are not currently in a teacher preparation program, Rutan said.

"Emergency certificates were a gateway to become fully certified and part of the ETC contract was that you would enroll in a certification program. If they get into TIP, that allows them an intern certificate and will allow them back into the classroom for one more year, whereas an emergency certificate won't."

Rutan is meeting with 20 ETCs at San Luis High School this week. Principal Carrie Stadler said there is a shortage of highly qualified math, science and special education teachers at her school.

"We know our ETCs are knowledgable but we can't offer them a job without a highly qualified certificate," Stadler said. "We're encouraging them to get into an intern program or else we'll have to look elsewhere."

Katie Kelly is an ETC teaching biology at Yuma High School, and just won a Teacher of the Year award for outstanding first-year teacher, yet she has no job lined up for next year.

"I guess it's ironic," Kelly said. "But the administration assured me that if I get a certificate, I'd pretty much have a job."

In addition to teaching, Kelly coaches softball, volleyball and basketball and said hopes to continue next year. Currently, she is in a master of secondary education with certification program.

"Because I already started the master's program, hopefully it will be an easy transition to TIP," Kelly said. "I have a degree in biology and business and when I started (teaching), I got the emergency certificate but I didn't have any education course credits."

Kelly has already passed her AEPA content exam but still needs to complete the professional knowledge portion of AEPA. She said she is hoping TIP will be the final push to secure her teaching certificate.

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William Roller can be reached at
wroller@yumasun.com or 539-6858.