Seattle, WA 98104
USA
2018 City University of Seattle Startalk Teacher Certification
Background: Startalk, funded by the National Security Agency (NSA), administered by the National Foreign Language Center (NFLC) at the University of Maryland, has goals to 1) increase the number of qualified teachers of Arabic, Chinese, Dari, Farsi, Hindi, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Swahili, Turkish, and Urdu; 2) increase numbers of students taking these languages; and 3) create infrastructure for curricula, materials and resources to support teaching/learning the critical languages (www.startalk.umd.edu).
What: City University has 16 spaces available for fluent speakers of Chinese or Korean or Portuguese to earn teacher certification in the state of Washington.
How: Teacher candidates will be enrolled in City U’s alternative route teacher certification program.
When: July 2-July 20, with July 4 off; 7:30 a.m.- 5 p.m.
- June 30 Afternoon orientation; Resume/Interview Techniques workshop, sponsored by Chong Wa Education Society, Confucius Institute, WAFLT
- July 2, 3, 5, 6 Certification classes, including lab school preparation
- July 9-13 Morning lab school with afternoon certification class
- July 16-18 Morning lab school with afternoon certification class
- July 19 Last day morning lab school; continue afternoon certification class
- July 20 Wrap up class activities, surveys, evaluations, certificates of completion
Where: Chong Wa Hall, 522 7th Ave. S, Seattle Chinatown 98104
Teacher Candidate Pre-requisites:
- A bachelor’s degree from an accredited university in the U.S. or other country.
- Passing the WEST-B (Washington Educator’s Basic Skills Test) Reading, Writing and Math (nesinc.com). Substitutions: C-BEST, SAT or ACT. http://www.k12.wa.us/certification/Teacher/teachertesting.aspx.
- Passing ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview (OPIc) and Writing Proficiency Test (WPT). Passing: Advanced Low
http://www.languagetesting.com/oral-proficiency-interview-by-computer-opic
- City U’s Startalk program requires passing one of the following pre-requisite choices:
- ELL (WEST-E 051), plus Elementary Education Subtest I (NES 102) and Elementary Education Subtest II (NES 103); passing these tests will enable you to teach ELL P-12 and/or elementary grades K-8, or choose
- Special Education (WEST-E 070); passing this test will enable you to teach SpEd P-12, or choose
- Secondary Math (NES 304); passing NES 304 will enable you to teach math 5th-12th grades (secondary), or choose
- Mid Grades Math (NES 203); Mid Grades Math does not include trigonometry and calculus. Passing NES 203 will enable you to teach math 4th-9th grades.
- All teacher candidates must undergo a fingerprint/background check (valid for two years) at an Educational Service District (ESD) near you in order to work with students.
Notes: The Designated World Language (WEST-E 100) test may be taken near the end of certification; passing it will enable you to teach Chinese or Korean, or Portuguese (fulfills Startalk Central Goal 1: to increase numbers of teachers of critical languages).
Bachelor’s degrees from outside the U.S. need to be evaluated by an outside agency for equivalency. Below is one area evaluation agency:
Foundation for International Services
505 – 5th Avenue South, Suite 101
Edmonds, WA 98020
Phone: 425-248-2255
https://www.fis-web.com/
Teaching and/or tutoring experience a plus! Summer tuition scholarships available for qualifying candidates.
Questions? Contact Betty Lau, CU of Seattle Startalk director: bettylau@comcast.net.
Startalk Applicants: Email your resume to Betty Lau. Interviews will be scheduled March/April.