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Pennsylvania Teacher Certification

Average Teacher Salary: $54,027
Average State Salary for All Jobs: $40,630

Coursework and Preparation Programs You'll Need:

You'll need a Bachelor's Degree before you can teach in Pennsylvania  schools. There are no special undergraduate coursework requirements in individual subject areas for Pennsylvania teacher certification. You will, however, need to complete a Pennsylvania-approved teacher preparation program. A discussion of approved programs is available here:
Certification Preparation Programs: http://www.education.state.pa.us

For a list of alternative teacher preparation programs, see
http://www.teach-now.org/
the National Center for Alternative Certification Web site.

American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence

The Pennsylvania Department of Education recognizes the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence (ABCTE) as a certification body for teachers. Find out more at this Web site:
Become a Teacher in Pennsylvania:
http://www.abcte.org/teach/pennsylvania

Tests

For teacher certification in Pennsylvania, you'll need to take the following test for basic teaching skills:
PPST (Pre Professional Skills Test) Official Site: http://www.ets.org | 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: http://www.ets.org | Praxis 2 Test

Reciprocity Agreements

The State of Pennsylvania has reciprocity agreements to accept teaching credentials from most other states.

Facts about Pennsylvania Teacher Certification

On average, teachers in Pennsylvania can expect 15 weeks vacation annually.
Differential pay support is available for teachers in high needs subject areas.
After teaching in Pennsylvania for three years, a teacher becomes eligible for tenure.

For Further Information

You can contact the Pennsylvania Department of Education about teacher certification at this address:
Pennsylvania Department of Education
333 Market Street
Harrisburg, PA 17126-0333

Or you can call at 717-783-6788.
In addition, the following official Web sites have information about the Pennsylvania teacher certification process:

Pennsylvania Department of Education:
http://www.pde.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/pennsylvania_department_of_education/7237

Teachers Home Page:
http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/teachers/8806