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District of Columbia Teacher Certification

Average Teacher Salary: $61,195
Average State Salary for All Jobs: $67,810

Coursework and Preparation Programs You'll Need:

You'll need a Bachelor's Degree before you can teach in Connecticut schools. The following DC-area universities have teacher education programs approved by the District of Columbia:
American University
Catholic University of America
George Washington University
Howard University
Trinity University
University of the District of Columbia
Required coursework is specific to the areas being taught. For elementary education, 60 hours of coursework is needed in the following childhood-education-related areas:
Math – 6 hours
Reading – 6 hours
Language Arts – 12 hours
Social Science – 12 hours
Science – 6 hours
Health and Physical Education – 6 hours
Fine Arts – 6 hours
Teaching Experience and Observation – 6 hours
For secondary education, 36 hours of English-related is required for teaching English and 30 hours of appropriate coursework is required for teaching math, science or social studies.
For more information, see the TeachDC FAQ: 
http://www.teachdc.org/faq-s
For a list of alternative teacher certification preparation programs, see the National Center for Alternative Certification Web site.

Tests

For teacher certification in the District of Columbia, you'll need to take the following test for basic teaching skills:
PPST (Pre Professional Skills Test) Official Site | Praxis 1 Test
You'll also need to take one or more of the following tests in specific subject areas:
Praxis 2 Exams Official Site | Praxis 2 Test

Reciprocity Agreements

For a list of states with which the District of Columbia has reciprocity agreements, see this site:
http://osse.dc.gov/seo/cwp/view,a,1224,Q,563993,PM,1.asp

Facts about District of Columbia Teacher Certification

Differential pay support is available for teachers in high needs subject areas.

For Further Information

You can contact the District of Columbia Office of Educator Licensure and Quality about teacher certification at this address:
Office of Educator Licensure and Quality
51 N Street NE, 3rd Floor
Washington, DC 20002

Or you can call the Educator Licensure Office at (202) 741-5851.
In addition, the following official Web sites have information about the District of Columbia teacher certification process:

District of Columbia State Superintendent of Education
Office of Educator Licensure and Quality
TeachDC