Become a High School Teacher in Missouri

<h2 id="section---OverviewOfTheRequirementsForHighSchoolTeacherCertificationInMissouri">Overview of the Requirements for High School Teacher Certification in Missouri</h2> <p>In order to become a high school teacher in Missouri, interested candidates must have a minimum of a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university and pass the relevant assessments in order to attain certification. Check out the table below for the general requirements. </p> <p /> <table border="1"><tr><td>Education/Experience Required</td><td> Bachelor's degree with a minimum 2.75 GPA</td></tr> <tr><td>Exam Requirements </td><td> MoGEA <br /> Content Assessments</td></tr> <tr><td>Certification Renewal Period </td><td> Four years (initial certificate)</td></tr> <tr><td>Requirements for Renewal </td><td> Initial certificate cannot be renewed</td></tr> <tr><td>Median Salary (2018)</td><td> $54,280 (high school teachers in MO)*</td></tr> <tr><td>Estimated Job Growth (2016-2026) </td><td>8% (high school teachers nationally)*</td></tr> </table><p><i>Sources: *U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics</i> </p> <h3 id="section---GeneralRequirementsForAnInitialProfessionalCertificate">General Requirements for an Initial Professional Certificate</h3> <p>In Missouri, first-time applicants for an educator certificate must attain the Initial Professional Certificate. For this certificate, interested candidates must have at least an undergraduate degree in an approved educator preparation program from an accredited college or university. The candidate must have an cumulative GPA of 2.75 and a GPA of 3.0 in professional education coursework and the content area. The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education keeps a database of institutions that offer approved educator preparation programs. As an example, Columbia College offers educator programs in the secondary education areas of Biology, Business Education, Chemistry and General Science. </p> <h3 id="section---AssessmentRequirements">Assessment Requirements</h3> <p>There are two types of assessments that the interested candidate must pass in order to qualify for the Initial Professional Certificate. These are the Missouri General Education Assessment (MoGEA) and the Missouri Content Assessments that address specific subject areas. The MoGEA is applicable to when the candidate first applies for an approved educator program. It includes assessments for the areas of English language arts, Writing, Mathematics, Science and Social Science. There are a number of content assessments relevant to secondary education. These include General Science, Chemistry, Agriculture, Journalism, and English. </p> <h3 id="section---BackgroundCheck">Background Check</h3> <p>In order to initiate the background check, the interested candidate must pre-register on the Missouri Automated Criminal History Site (MACHS) website. Once this is done, the candidate will be instructed to find an approved IdentoGo location to have their fingerprints collected. The collected fingerprints will be used by the Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to perform a background check. Candidates will be given a four-digit code by their employing school district that they must supply during the fingerprinting process in order to ensure the background check is sent to the correct organization. The cost of a background check is $41.75. </p> <h3 id="section---ApplicationProcess">Application Process</h3> <p>Having met the requirements for the initial certificate, the interested candidate must complete the initial certification application online and submit it to the Missouri school at which they completed their educator preparation program. After completing the section relevant to the institution, the application will be submitted to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for processing. </p> <h3 id="section---CertificateInformation">Certificate Information</h3> <p>The Initial Professional Certificate is valid for four years and cannot be renewed. Educators with this certificate must complete four years of teaching, join a mentoring program, complete at least 30 contact hours of professional development, participate in a beginning teacher assistance program, participate in a teacher evaluation program and develop a professional development plan to upgrade to a Career Continuous Professional Certificate (CCPC). The CCPC is valid for 99 years. If an educator has not met the requirements to upgrade their initial certificate within the four-year period, they will need to apply to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for an extension.</p>