What is teachNOLA?
teachNOLA Overview
Public Education in New Orleans
Teaching in a New Orleans Public School
The Recovery School District
New Schools for New Orleans
Who We Want
Subjects Fellows Teach
Living in New Orleans
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Why Join?
The Benefits of Being a Fellow
Your Job as a Teacher
Louisiana Teacher Certification
Training and Resources
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Program Eligibility
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Application Process
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Program Eligibility
To apply, candidates must meet the following eligibility requirements. No previous coursework in education or teaching experience is required.
•You must possess a non-education Bachelor's degree (conferred by June 2008).
•Your undergraduate GPA must be 3.0 or higher.
•You must be fully eligible to work in the United States.
•You must meet requirements for your subject area.*
•You cannot be a fully-certified teacher. If you are already certified, or wil be certified by June 2008, click here for information about teachNOLA’s program for licensed teachers.
•You cannot be currently enrolled in an alternate route certification program in Louisiana.
•You cannot be currently working as a teacher in a New Orleans public school.
* Acceptance into teachNOLA is contingent upon passage of required teaching tests. You may be conditionally admitted without test passage but must pass all necessary tests by the start of the Training Institute. If you have not already begun planning to meet these requirements, please visit our section on Testing Requirements to get started.
You must possess a non-education Bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited university.
Candidates who either hold a bachelor's degree or who are currently completing their bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited university and expect to have the degree awarded no later than June 2008 are eligible to apply. Please note that a non-education bachelor's degree is a requirement for state certification.
Graduates of foreign universities must have their transcripts evaluated by an approved agency. When requesting an evaluation, be sure that the agency specifically states that you have received the U.S. equivalent of a bachelor’s degree in your subject area AND provides a full listing of your coursework. Applications that include foreign transcripts will not be reviewed until the completed evaluation has been mailed to the teachNOLA office.
Candidates requiring foreign transcript evaluation should visit the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO), Office of International Education Services website at www.aacrao.org/credential/.
Your undergraduate GPA must be 3.0 or higher.
Candidates must have a cumulative undergraduate grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale from an accredited college or university. Graduate courses may not be used or averaged with the undergraduate GPA.
If your college did not provide a GPA, you will need to submit a letter from your school, with your transcript, explaining this and verifying that you would have earned at least a 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
You will be asked to explain a low undergraduate GPA on the application. Applications with undergraduate GPAs below 3.0 will be considered on a case-by-case basis based on a candidate’s additional demonstrated achievement. teachNOLA cannot consider applications with GPAs below 2.5 due to state certification requirements.
You must be fully eligible to work in the United States.
Due to the hiring requirements of our partner schools, teachNOLA applicants must ensure proof of legal work status (i.e., have U.S. citizenship, or permanent residency with a valid green card) to be eligible for the program. teachNOLA does not provide sponsorship for employment through this program.
You must meet testing requirements for your subject area.
Candidates must meet testing requirements according to state, district, and certification program guidelines for the subject they wish to teach before they begin teaching. Eligibility is determined according to strict requirements from the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE), which requires candidates to demonstrate subject area competency through the passage of a specific Praxis content area examination.
Please visit our Testing Requirements page for more information on the Praxis requirement. To learn more about the admissions requirements for an alternate teaching preparation program, click here.
You cannot be a fully-credentialed teacher.
Teachers in possession of a teaching certificate from Louisiana or any other state – as well as teachers who will become certified by June 2008 - are not eligible for the Fellows program. Experience as a substitute teacher or as a teacher on an emergency credential does not affect a candidate's eligibility.
If you are already certified, or will be by June 2008, please view teachNOLA’s information for certified candidates by clicking here.
You cannot be currently enrolled in an alternate route certification program in Louisiana.
Individuals currently working toward certification in Louisana are not eligible for the Fellows program. Candidates who have started a certification program in another state are eligible, provided they will have a semester or more remaining as of June 2008. All Fellows, regardless of prior education coursework, will be required to participate fully in all components of the Fellows program, including the summer training institute and the completion of an approved certification program. Most likely, prior education credits will not transfer to the certification program Fellows are required to complete.
You cannot be currently working as a teacher in a New Orleans public school.
teachNOLA exists to add capacity to public schools in New Orleans, thus the program does not accept applications from current New Orleans teachers, regardless of certification status. Degreed paraprofessionals and teaching assistants, however, are welcome to apply.
If you have any questions about our eligibility requirements, please email us at info@teachnola.org.