My daughter is going to pursue a bachelors degree in Elementary Education after she graduates from community college… we live in NY, she wants to go out of state for college, but I told her it doesn’t make any sense because I’m not sure if the teaching certificate that she will receive will transfer over to NY after she graduates from her 4 year university… if you guys can inform me if any state will allow teaching certificates to transfer over to NY?
Thanks.
Reciprocity is one thing, student teaching and internships that lead to good career connections is another. Her best chance of getting a job in the school district or region where where she’d like to work, is if she can do her student teaching there.
SUNY schools are the best places to get a teaching degree in NYS and for teaching in NYS. Failing that, check for a school’s NCATE status and check on the state website regarding specific reciprocity. However, i agree with @happymomof1 that it’s easiest to get a job where you can student teach. My D graduated from a 5 year direct entry SUNY program with an undergraduate degree in childhood and elementary education and a master’s in special ed and no debt. She student taught in Manhattan and was able to secure a job in a highly rated elementary school immediately after graduation. I don’t know that she would have had that opportunity had she student taught in another state.
If she has her heart set on out of state, it’s not a crisis. It just means more work to get NY certification at the end of the process.
But I would suggest she go to school fairly close to where she hopes to eventually teach. Not only will she have the certification she needs, she’ll also have the opportunity to build relationships and network during the time she spends observing and then eventually student teaching. Those connections could make a huge difference when it’s time to start job hunting.
@bjkmom She says she wants to go to Florida because my brother is over there and also his wife is a teacher over there so I was thinking maybe that could be a good idea because she can help her out if anything once she has to do her student teaching. We used to live in Miami so I told her if she was to go to Florida without a doubt I would move over there again if she was to get a teaching position after she graduates. But we will see what happens once this summer comes along, that’s when she will be applying to other colleges.
@techmom99 thank you for that info… I’m not too sure about sunys since I went to Monroe and Lehman College… but we will see what happens… she really likes Oswego and Plattsburgh. I was thinking maybe Albany too…
@happymomof1 thx for the information!
That makes sense. Why not apply to Florida universities that are near your sister’s as well as new York public ones? If she wants to go back to Florida and teach there it’d be easier if she went, however she would have to pay OOS tuition so it’d definitely be more expensive. Does she know your budget? Has she explored the differences between NYS and Florida when it comes to teaching requirements but also populations?
(For instance, a vast influx of Spanish speaking Puertorican children is expected in the next few weeks/months and school districts are preparing for that. Does your daughter speak Spanish fluently? If not, what can she do to increase her knowledge? Having a bilingual education certificate or an ESL certificate is likely to become essential in getting hired. Note that this is likely for New York State too but I don’t think preparation is being made yet.)
@MYOS1634 We are Hispanic so she does speak spanish but she doesn’t want to get the bilingual certificate… she wants to apply to UMiami and UF, she told me that fsu told her she had to take like a certain type of exam or something like that before getting into the Education program. She’s also been thinking about other states such as Arizona, Alabama and her favorite California but we don’t have any family in those states and I’m a little worried about having her too far out from me…
Nowadays that certificate is almost necessary to get a job in public school (or ESL) - except in California where all elementary school teachers are expected to be able to use Spanish. If she speaks Spanish, she should really reconsider - especially of she’s interested in teaching in Florida. Certificates (special ed, bilingual, esl) may make the difference between being hired or not and the bilingual certificate would seem the easiest for her to get.
Note that Arizona has cut education budgets so it’s not the best place to start a career.
Have you run the NPC on her choices?
UMiami isn’t really known for education. (It’s well ranked and quite expensive, known for its party atmosphere, very preprofessional, respected for business/Economics and premed.)
Typically, public universities are better for education, especially elementary education so if you have family in Miami what about USF?
As a FL resident, I’d welcome your DD to our state. Our population grows, and every year a new school is built, at least in my county. She doesn’t need UF or UM to get the degree of most helpfulness. Focus on the area she would like to work, so can network. If she chooses Dade, then being bilingual would be helpful/necessary.
OP, FSU might be talking about PRAXIS test. Many education programs require that you pass or exempt out of one of these tests to formally be an education major (and to be in the pipeline to be in classrooms for practicums and student teaching). The schools my D went to allowed you to exempt whatever the basic one is (sorry, too lazy to google it 
) with a certain SAT/ACT score which she had. Then when you get close to graduation you have to take whatever PRAXIS your state requires for your subject area/certification area. For my D there were two she passed her last year in her program - one on general education principles and one on elementary education curriculum. This may differ in each state.
Can you afford the OOS tuition costs for your daughter to attend an OOS public university…or private one?
The SUNY schools are great. She can get a teaching degree, and certification in NY. If she decides to, I’ve elsewhere, she will just have to satisfy their certification requirements…and may have to take the Praxis tests again.
People get teaching degrees and move from place to place all of the time. I’ve worked in four different states with four different certification requirements…no reciprocity. But I was able to get certified in all of them by applying…and sending in the proper credentials.
You are welcome. I went to Science and Columbus and then Lehman, so we are alumnae together. My aunts and an uncle or two went to Monroe back in the 1930’s. Good luck to your D wherever she goes.
Being bilingual, and knowing how to teach it, is GREATLY in demand.
Yes, this was my comment. I have a couple friends who are teachers who moved states and were able to get certified with and without reciprocity. At age 17 she may not know where she wants to live and teach in the future (and even if she thinks she knows…she may change her mind later) so I wouldn’t rely solely on that for choosing a college.
More important is where she wants to go and where you can afford to send her.
@juillet well she’s 21 so I think she’s capable of making a good decision on where she wants to live I think she’s really choosing Florida but I don’t think I’ll be able to pay the out of state tuition she would probably have to take out loans… I don’t want her to be debt though so we will see whichever SUNY will accept her. I just want her to be happy wherever she goes.
@nymother1996 FL is not a state she’ll have a hard time getting a teaching job in if she goes to school in NY. Save the money - Fl doesn’t pay well and has a ton of jobs. The NY degree will help if she decides to stay in the Northeast where it’s much harder to get into districts. Less debt is key (said as the mom of an elem ed major and wife of a middle school teacher!)
re post # 10. Not speaking Spanish is NOT a big deal. Most Americans do not, nor should they need to (many come from places with other home languages, learning English is the priority just as Spanish speakers need to learn English to communicate with others). There are so many other languages spoken at home in many families. A good knowledge of Spanish is good for areas with high Spanish speaking populations but that is not everywhere. And some of those areas also have high populations with other language speakers. Hey- my H learned 3 alphabets as well as languages growing up- none of which were Spanish. Plus the Spanish spoken by different ethnic groups can be hard to understand by those not from the same area. Learned that in here Tampa- Puerto Rican Spanish is difficult for others per well educated neighbors from there.
With a Hispanic heritage and ties to Florida it is logical for the OP’s D to choose Florida. But- the family budget has the most influence when choosing schools for interest. She should only look in places she may want to live as her degree requirements will most likely include courses specific to that state. Changing states may mean meeting local requirements (such as the state history et al- very logical).