A public event held Thursday evening at Quality Inn offered insight about the steps anyone with a bachelor’s degree — in any subject — can take to become certified to teach in South Carolina.
The presentation was led by Katelyn Price — a South Carolina native and state teacher certification specialist. Price told participants that becoming certified through the American Board was faster, cheaper and easier than traditional routes.
Unlike programs that require classes, assignments and student teaching, the American Board’s program is self-paced and online, giving candidates the flexibility to study from any computer with Internet access at any time of day.
Simply put, the three steps to American Board certification are as follows:
- obtaining a bachelor’s degree in any subject area
- passing the American Board exams — Professional Teaching Knowledge (PTK) and subject area expertise
- passing a background check.
Price hailed the American Board Plus+ Program as the best bargain and most flexible program offered.
The program includes a 40-minute online orientation mapping out the program, study plans, calendars, checklists, online refresher courses, prepare-to-teach workshops, practice exams and access to program consultants.
Price said that students value the practice exams because of their immediate feedback.
“You’ll know what you got wrong,” she said. “So if the majority of the questions you got wrong were in the same domain, then you’ll know you need to study that domain more.”
Since 2007, the state of South Carolina has officially recognized the American Board as a route to earning a South Carolina teaching license in the following subjects:
- biology
- chemistry
- English
- general science
- mathematics
- physics
Price explained that those are the critical need areas in the state and that teachers are most needed at the high school level. She also said that the need constantly changes.
“At one time, the need was great for special needs teachers,” Price said. “Now there is an excess.”
The American Board is a non-profit established in 2001 through funding from the U.S. Department of Education and endorsed by 11 states as an official route to teacher licensure.
More information about the licensure process can be found at www.abcte.org. Anyone with questions about the process or who would like to know more details specific to South Carolina may contact Katelyn Price by phone at (803) 600-8010 or by email at kprice@americanboard.org.
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