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Missouri, like all other states, has very specific requirements that must be met in order to obtain a teacher's certification. The requirements encompass the areas of prerequisite coursework, teacher's preparation, as well as specific testing requirements that assess basic teaching skills as well as a teacher's specific subject area.
The first step to obtaining your teacher's certification is to fulfill the education requirement of a Bachelor's degree. If you do not currently have this degree, it would be best to choose to enroll in a teacher's education program accredited by the state of Missouri. During the time it takes to earn your degree, you must maintain a minimum GPA of 2.5 and pass your state teaching exams. Upon completion, you will receive an initial Missouri teaching certification which stays good for four years.
If you have graduated from an accredited college with a Bachelor's degree in an area other than education, you still have an opportunity to earn an alternative teaching certificate by satisfying specific requirements developed by the state. For example, the state of Missouri will allow potential teachers (holding a four-year degree) to attend a teacher's prep course while teaching under a provisional certificate that is valid for two years. Troops to Teachers and ABCTE (American Board for Certification for Teacher Excellence) are two other alternative teaching programs available in the state.
Teacher education programs have been designed to combine appropriate curricula with related fieldwork. The curricula include pedagogy (the art and science of teaching) as well as the preparation of teachers to create and implement learning modules for their chosen subjects. The fieldwork includes classroom work where the teacher (with the provisional certificate) can be consistently evaluated and coached by a supervising teacher.
The state of Missouri does not have a reciprocity program for teacher's certifications; however, those teachers holding valid teaching certificates from another state can obtain a Missouri teaching certificate by submitting the appropriate documentation that verifies they are qualified. These exact requirements can be obtained by contacting Missouri's Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
The renewal process for teacher certifications is quite simple. An initial teacher's certification will require its holder to complete the mandatory education credits and maintain a position as a teacher in the state of Missouri. One can then choose to obtain the CCPC (Career Continuous Professional Certificate), which is the permanent license available to teachers in Missouri. This certification is available to teachers who stay current with professional development requirements and have teaching evaluations that are consistently positive.
About two years ago or so, Missouri's kindergarten teachers had an average annual salary of almost $43,000, while middle school teachers earned an average yearly wage of a little over $45,000. Additionally, the average annual wage of secondary school teachers sits close to $43,000.
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