My little sister will be a HS junior and wants to become an elementary school teacher. What colleges and programs should we be looking at? Would it be okay for her to get an undergraduate degree out of state and then return to CA for certification (but no master’s degree)? Or is it preferable for her to stay in CA for undergrad?
Have her check the CA Dept of Education website for certification requirements, and to google “reciprocity in teaching certification.”
She’ll want to graduate certified, or where it’s simply a matter of paperwork to get certified in CA. She can always (and may have to, depending on CA’s requirements) get that MA later, but she’ll want to graduate certified with no Master’s Degree… it will make her a better (translation: cheaper) job candidate.
It will probably be easiest to just stay in CA-- particularly since the state is so big that there are huge variation in everything from weather to type of school.
As far as programs, she’ll want to find a school that gets her into schools, for observations at least, early. (FInd it under “internships” links on the school webpages.)
Also, the job market is awful. She’ll want to minor in something else, and to look into the possibility of becoming dual certified… maybe something like literacy or a reading specialist??? Have her speak to someone in guidance at her high school, as well to the admissions people in the schools she’s considering.