General Information about Online Teaching Certification Programs in Washington State
It is compulsory to earn a resident teacher certificate to become eligible to teach in public schools in Washington state. To earn this certificate, you have to enroll in a teacher certification program and pass certain tests. These tests are WEST-B and WEST-E/NES and EdTPA. WEST-B and WEST-E/NES are content knowledge tests whereas EdTPA is a subject-specific test.
Typically, there are two routes to teacher certification: traditional and alternative. In the traditional route, you complete the teaching certification along with a bachelor's or master's degree. The alternative route is a much shorter route in which you can work as a teacher while preparing for the certification. These routes include both coursework and teaching internships.
List of Online Teaching Certification Programs in Washington State
Seattle Pacific University, Northwest University, Heritage University, and Central Washington University offer online or hybrid teaching certification programs in Washington state. These programs are offered in the alternative pathway.
Seattle Pacific University
Seattle Pacific University offers Alternative Routes to Certification program which is mainly framed for working professionals and leads to a Residency Teacher Certificate. This is a one-year program and is offered fully online with a flexible schedule. The program requires 45 credits in total and includes 180 days of student teaching. The program follows a cohort model and does include some occasional face-to-face meetings with cohort members and teachers. The certification areas offered by the program are elementary education, special education and elementary education, special education and secondary/P-12 certification, and secondary/P-12 certification.
Northwest University
Northwest University is home to the Grow-Your-Own (GYO) alternative routes program that is offered online but includes some field experience. The program offers three pathways: an AA degree for those who do not hold any degree, a BA degree with certification for those who hold an AA degree, and a Master in Teaching (MIT) program with certification for bachelor degree holders. Four dual-endorsement areas are included under the program. These are elementary education with special education, elementary education with English language learning, secondary mathematics with middle-level mathematics, and secondary biology with middle-level science. The MIT program requires a total of 30 credits whereas the undergraduate program requires 72-78 credits.
Heritage University
Heritage University provides a Master in Teaching (MIT) program designed for professionals in the education field. The program is offered in a hybrid model with face-to-face, synchronous, and asynchronous online classes. The program offers three pathways: Theory to Practice, Residency, and Accelerate. The MIT Theory to Practice pathway leads to a certification in the endorsement area Elementary Education K-8, and the Residency pathway to Elementary Education K-8 with extra certification in English Language Learner, Bilingual Education, or Special Education. The Accelerate pathway allows you to work as a full-time paid teacher and leads to certification in the same endorsement areas as the residency pathway.
Central Washington University
Central Washington University offers a hybrid Master of Arts in Teaching program for those who hold a bachelor's degree. The program includes five quarters of coursework and a year-long internship. The program offers endorsement in a number of areas. The areas include but are not limited to biology, chemistry, middle-level math, humanities and science, computer science, English language arts, library media, dance, earth science, history, mathematics, and health & fitness. The university also allows those who seek only licensure recommendation and not a MAT degree to acquire a certificate of completion after the fourth quarter.
Career Outlook after Online Teaching Certification Programs in Washington
The teaching certification programs are designed to give you the knowledge and practical experience required to work as a teacher in Washington schools.
According to the 2019 data of the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS), the annual mean wages earned by Washington teachers are as follows: $63,710 (kindergarten), $69,390 (elementary), $70,970 (middle school), $71,690 (secondary). For the period 2019-2029, kindergarten, elementary, middle school, and high school teachers are projected to see jobs increase by 4%, which is as fast as the average job growth for all occupations.
Online teaching certification programs in Washington state are mostly offered in the alternate pathway. These programs offer certification in various endorsement areas like biology, physics, elementary education, and health science.
