Interested in becoming a licensed teacher

• Job-embedded: If you do not hold a teaching license, but have a Bachelor's degree and the desire to become a certified teacher and would like to explore a job-embedded teaching license you will need to do the following:

1. Scan all transcripts and send an introductory email to any/all of the following certification officers, making them aware of the grade span/subject(s) you would like to teach in Hamilton County Schools.
2. Ask what is required for you to be eligible for a job-embedded teacher license program.
3. Once you are eligible, you could then apply for vacancies, and if offered a job, you would go back to the university partner and they would apply for a Practitioner 1st Issuance license--good for three (3) years to allow time to complete all coursework and assessment requirements.

Contacts:

• Grow your Own: See the candidate eligibility requirements below.  Click here for more information.
  • Current Hamilton County Schools classified staff working with PreK-12 students
  • Interest in teaching Exceptional Education, Secondary Math, Secondary Science, Secondary ELA, or Elementary Grades
  • Commitment to complete coursework and attend cohort meetings, as determined by the program
  • Desire to teach in a Title-I setting
  • Commitment to teach in Hamilton County for three years

Renewal Information

• Practitioner 1st Issuance

If you have passed the needed assessments and completed a teacher prep program, but lack the experience (minimum of 25 months experience), then you can apply to renew. If approved, you will be issued the Practitioner Teacher license which is good for another 3 years.  Practitioner Teacher licenses are renewable based on obtaining 30 Professional Development Points (PDPs).

*Beginning August 1, 2023, the Literacy Success Act took effect and if your license holds an Elementary Education, Early Childhood, Special Education, or ESL endorsement, you must also complete one of the pathways - there is more information about this in the link below.

• Professional

There are now TWO options:

• Obtain 60 Professional Development Points (PDPs) during the validity period of the license (from the effective/renewal date through the expiration date).

OR

• Have two years of qualifying teaching experience during the validity period of the license.

*Beginning August 1, 2023, the Literacy Success Act took effect and if your license holds an Elementary Education, Early Childhood, Special Education, or ESL endorsement, you must also complete one of the pathways - there is more information about this in the link below.

• JROTC

The requirements to renew is an updated current training certificate (with expiration date) and a Recommendation completed by the Superintended Designee.

Advancement Information

If you hold a Practitioner license and want to advance, there are four requirements to advance:

• Complete an Educator Preparation Program (EPP) 
• Have at least 25 months of experience (can be in Tennessee or another state).  Must either be showing in the experience section of the Licensure tab or uploaded on an Experience Verification form in the Attachment section.
• Have passing scores on all required assessments with the scores showing in the Preparation tab of your TNCompass Educator Profile.
• 30 Professional Development Points (PDPs)

Add an endorsement

                                                                                                                                                                            

If you're ready to add an endorsement, follow the instructions linked below:
Add Endorsement
                                                                                                                                                                                               

Add an Occupational License

If you hold a license that covers the grade span 6-12 and want to add an Occupational license, you can add any of the Occupational endorsements by obtaining the industry certification for the endorsement.  You can see the required industry certification options by endorsement on this guidance document (starting on page 7).

                                                                                                                                                                            

If you're ready to add an Occupational License, follow the instructions linked below:
Academic to Occupational
                                                                                                                                                                                               

1. Hold a current out of state Professional level teaching license,
2. Hold current National Board certification,
3. Have current Praxis content assessment scores for each endorsement you wish to reactivate showing in your TNCompass account, OR
4. If the expired license was a Professional level license, there was new legislation passed July of 2023 that allows educators to reactivate with EITHER two (2) years of experience OR sixty (60) PDPs.