The NYC Extended Certification Programs by NYCPS provide school administrations a valuable opportunity to both grow the capacity of their teaching staff and ensure that vacancies in hard-to-staff subjects are filled by teachers who are the best fit for their school’s culture.
The NYC Extended Certification Programs enable current NYCPS teachers to enroll in courses through local colleges and universities to earn either a Bilingual Extension or an additional certification in Special Education. While these programs provide teachers a great avenue to continue their education, the benefits of these programs also extend to the teacher’s school:
- Teachers enrolled in an NYC Extended Certification Program commit to teaching in their current school and within their new certification for 2 years after successfully completing their program. This aids in teacher retention for the schools where they teach, ensuring that hard-to-staff subjects are more likely to stay staffed.
- By staffing these high-need subjects with teachers from within their team, schools also ensure that their students receive teachers who are the best fit for their school’s culture, as they are already members of the staff.
- The NYC Extended Certification Programs also enable schools to put themselves on a path to NYSED compliance. Not only can they staff Special Education and Bilingual Education classes with enrolled teachers, quickly meeting the practical educational needs of their students, but once these teachers complete their programs, schools then have fully certified teachers in those classes.