Teacher Education (Alternate Route)

Alternate Route to Teaching

Have you ever thought about becoming a teacher? If you have a Bachelor’s degree, but do not have teaching certification, then this program may be right for you. County College of Morris, in collaboration with Brookdale Community College, offers prospective teachers the opportunity to obtain their New Jersey K-12 teaching certification through Brookdale’s Alternate Route to Teaching Community College Program (ART-CC). ART-CC is a 400-hour teacher preparation program. This non-credit, professional development program provides candidates with the skills and strategies necessary to become excellent, successful teachers.

For individuals to become a licensed teacher without completing a traditional teacher training program, you must already hold a bache­lor’s degree (or higher) with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or greater if you graduated September 2016 or later. For candidates completing degrees before that, a GPA of 2.75 or higher is required.

Before beginning the alternate route to teaching process, prospective candidates should review the following websites:

• NJ Department of Education https://www.nj.gov/education/rpi/induction/

• Teacher Candidate Basic Skills Requirement:

› Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with a cumulative 2.75 GPA (if you graduated prior to September 2016) or a 3.0 GPA (if you graduated after September 2016) or higher from a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree program.

› Meet the content requirements. You must have the equivalent of a major in the subject you want to teach or 64 credits in liberal arts for an elementary certificate. Check the requirements at https://www.nj.gov/education/certification/certsandtitles/

• Brookdale Community College Alternate Route to Teaching https://www.brookdalecc.edu/continuinged/careerdevelopment/cte/alter­nate-route-to-teaching/

Candidates complete the 50-hour Introduction to Teaching – Preservice course at CCM. After the introduction, the remaining 350 hours are spread across six courses of online learning at Brookdale. Please contact Brookdale Community College for more information on the following courses.

Processes of Teaching and Learning                                                              Novice level, 90 hours

Deep Learning and Effective Cross Content Applications/Literacy            Intermediate level, 60 hours

Educational Equity and Cultural Diversity                                                        Intermediate level, 50 hours

Assessment –Planning, Instructing, and Assessing                                    Expert level, 50 hours

edTPA                                                                                                                      Expert level, 40 hours

A Community of Practice                                                                                     Leader level, 60 hours

For further information on the Brookdale pro­gram, email Emily Potts at epotts@brookdalecc.edu or visit the Brookdale Alternate Route website at https://www.brookdalecc.edu/continuinged/careerdevelopment/cte/alternate-route-to-teaching/

Students may enter the first of the six Brookdale courses, Process of Teaching and Learning, without a contracted teaching position, however continued enrollment in the program requires students to have a full-time contract teaching position and enrollment in the NJ Department of Education, Provisional Teacher Program. Completion of the ART-CC program, along with a passing grade on the edTPA portfolio, will confer the NJDOE CE-VOPC (Continuing Education—Verification of Program Completion). A Standard Certificate will be issued after the candidate successfully teaches for an additional two years.

Concurrently during the preservice phase, candidates should complete the NJDOE requirements to obtain a Certificate of Eligibility to teach. See the NJDOE website for the required documents.

A Provisional Certificate will be issued by the NJDOE through the school district in which the candidate works after the candidate com­pletes the 50 hours of preservice, accepted an offer of employment, confirmed enrollment in an alternate route to teaching program and is enrolled in a district mentoring program.

CCM’s Preservice Introduction to Teaching meets the entrance requirements of Brookdale Community College and New Jersey City University. For further information on the Brookdale pro­gram, email Emily Potts at epotts@brookdalecc.edu or visit the Brookdale Alternate Route website at https://www.brookdalecc.edu/continuinged/careerdevelopment/cte/alter­nate-route-to-teaching/. Individuals who would like to obtain master’s level credits while completing an alternate route to teaching program should review the requirements of New Jersey City University’s New Pathways to Teaching program.

Course CodeCourse TitleCEUs
ALT-113EAlternate Route to Teaching - 50 Hour Preservice Component3

For information on current course offerings and how to register, go to www.ccm.edu/workforce/

Course usage information

Alternate Route to Teaching - 50 Hour Preservice Component

This 50-hour course requires 30 hours of classroom training, 8 hours of observing other NJ certified teachers and 12 hours of direct student contact as a substitute, tutor or after-school program teacher. ALT-113E.