Applications for the 2010 cohort will open online on November 17, 2010.  Click here to join our mailing list to be notified when applications open.

Rhode Island Teaching Fellows is a highly-selective alternative route to teaching program designed for outstanding individuals dedicated to impacting student achievement in RI’s high-need classrooms.  Teaching Fellows will teach in critical shortage subject areas - secondary math, science and special education. Please note that RITF has firm eligibility requirements that will not be waived, including written and verbal fluency in English.  These requirements ensure that all Teaching Fellows are highly qualified to teach in their subject area and that they will meet the rigorous demands of this accelerated route to certification.

No previous coursework in education or teaching experience is required. Please closely review these eligibility requirements before beginning an application. To apply, candidates must meet the following eligibility requirements:

• You must possess a bachelor's degree (conferred by June 15, 2010).
• Your undergraduate GPA must be 3.0 or higher.
• You must be eligible to work in the United States.
• You cannot have ever been a district or fully-licensed teacher.
• You cannot be enrolled in a certification program or have taken more than 16 credit hours of education coursework
• You must have a degree in math, science, English or a closely related field and meet the requirements for your subject area
  (math, science or special education).
• You must meet testing requirements
• You must report any criminal records on your application

You must possess a bachelor's degree. Candidates who either hold a bachelor’s degree or who are currently completing their bachelor's degree coursework from an accredited university and expect to have the degree awarded no later than June 15, 2010, are eligible to apply. Please note that a bachelor's degree is a requirement for certification.

Graduates of foreign universities must have their transcripts evaluated by an approved agency. When requesting an evaluation, be sure that the agency specifically states that you have received the U.S. equivalent of a bachelor’s degree in your subject area AND provides a full listing of your coursework. Applications that include foreign transcripts will not be reviewed until the completed evaluation has been sent to the Fellows office.

Graduates of foreign universities must have their transcripts evaluated by one of the following foreign credential evaluation agencies, recognized by the Rhode Island Department of Education, prior to applying:

American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers
Educational Credential Evaluators
World Education Services

Your undergraduate GPA must be 3.0 or higher. Individuals must possess an average undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or higher. The candidate will also be eligible if he/she has completed 24 semester hours of graduate level courses and received a cumulative graduate GPA of 3.0 or higher in graduate coursework. GPAs are not rounded up; the cumulative GPA on the candidate’s transcript must be at least a 3.0 in order to be eligible.  If a candidate has a GPA of 2.9 or lower and does not have 24 semester hours of graduate level courses with a GPA of at least 3.0, the candidate will not eligible and will not be invited to interview.   Please note that candidates invited to interview are required to bring copies of all transcripts to the interview event.

You must be eligible to work in the United States. Applicants must present proof of legal work status in order to become employees of one of the participating Rhode Island Department of Education school districts.

You cannot have ever been a district or fully-licensed teacher. Current provisional or fully-certified teachers, in Rhode Island or any other state, are not eligible for the Fellows program. If you have ever held a teaching certificate or license (even if it has expired), you are not eligible for our program. For more information on employment for licensed teachers please refer to the Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education website.

You cannot be enrolled in a certification program or have taken more than 16 credit hours of education coursework.  Rhode Island Teaching Fellows is an alternate route to certification and seeks candidates who do not have any formal training in education.  Our program provides training that is tailored specifically for candidates who do not have a foundation in education coursework.  Any candidate who has been enrolled in a certification program and/or has taken more than 16 credit hours in education courses is not eligible and will not be invited to interview. 

You must have a degree in math, science, English or a closely related field and meet the requirements for your subject area.

Candidates must meet coursework requirements according to state, district, and certification program guidelines for the subject they wish to teach before they begin teaching. Note- we are recruiting candidates with math and science backgrounds for general education, as well as candidates with math, science and English backgrounds for special education.

Candidates interested in teaching math or science need to have majored in that content area or a related field (see table below for related eligible majors).  In addition to holding a major in a related math or science field, candidates must have strong content knowledge in order to take and pass the required Praxis II Subject Assessment.  Candidates interested in teaching math must have taken at least two Calculus courses with a B average or better.  Candidates interested in teaching special education need to have majored in English, math, or science, or a related field. See table below for more details. 

Please keep these eligibility requirements in mind when stating your subject area preferences on your online application. You should also consider your interest in teaching special education when stating your preference. You must bring transcripts to your interview and before final acceptance into the program, candidates must submit official transcripts so that course credits and GPA may be verified. (Please visit Application Process page for more detail.) These requirements are non-negotiable and will not be waived.

You must meet testing requirements.  Beyond the specific coursework eligibility requirements for each subject area listed below, Fellows are responsible for registering for, studying for, and passing the appropriate exams: the Praxis I general knowledge exam (sections in reading, writing, and math) and the appropriate Praxis II subject area-specific exam(s) (see table below for more details). Admission to the Teaching Fellows program is contingent upon passage of these required tests, and passing scores must be on file with the Fellows office before the start of the Summer Training Institute. Candidates should wait to register for the Praxis II until they have submitted their online application and have received their subject area assignment from the Fellows program office.  As the Praxis II exam is only offered periodically, it is crucial that candidates take the exam early enough to have their scores by the beginning of Training Institute.  Please note that, in order to be eligible to start training, the latest possible date to take the Praxis II is April 24, 2010.  For important dates and more information about registering for the exams, be sure to review the Testing Requirements section of this website.

Subject Area-Specific Coursework & Testing Requirements

You must report any criminal records on your application. Rhode Island Teaching Fellows are subject to district and state policy with regards to criminal records. Therefore, candidates who indicate that they have a criminal record on their application may be ineligible to teach in Rhode Island Department of Education district schools through the Rhode Island Teaching Fellows program according to district and state level certification guidelines.

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