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Congratulations! You’re now enrolled and well on your way toward becoming a teacher! As you work toward fulfilling your dream, it’s not uncommon for a few questions to arise. Read our Enrolled Candidates FAQ to find the answers you’re looking for! We value transparency, so if you have another question not answered on this page, feel free to submit a new question using the form at the bottom of the page.
Your Pre-Service Training is composed of your online courses known as your Classroom Readiness Training and your 30 hours of Field-Based Experience (FBE) hours, also known as Classroom Observation hours.
The curriculum is organized around six main constructs for learning: The Teacher, The Learner, Lesson Planning, Instructional Strategies, Assessing Learning, and The Learning Environment. There are multiple courses within each construct that help the prospective teacher understand the pedagogy behind their role as an educator in the classroom. Please visit our Training page for samples of the coursework you will engage within each construct.
The Classroom Readiness Training and Test Preparation modules are always available online. You are also required to complete 30 hours of Field-Based Experience hours before entering the classroom. Due to COVID-19, all 30 hours may currently be completed online, making the entire program 100% online!
No, the testing, training, and Field-Based Experience hours can be completed in any order. The optional test preparation courses can help prepare you for the exams.
Classroom observations, also known as Field-Based Experience (FBE) hour are introductory experiences for a certification candidate involving reflective observation of EC-12 students, teachers, and faculty/staff members engaging in educational activities in a school setting.
30 FBE hours are required; all 30 hours may be completed online through your Canvas account.
It is possible, yes! If you’ve previously volunteered, mentored, tutored, or worked at a school system, these hours may be used to fulfill your 30-hour FBE requirement.
While most schools normally provide plenty of classroom observation opportunities for aspiring teachers, in-person options may be limited due to current circumstances. We recommend you first check the district website and search online for observation approval information. If you do not find more information online, call the district Human Resources department. Make sure you have first searched the district website and contacted the HR department before you call a campus directly. Also, keep in mind that all 30 FBE hours can be completed online.
You can submit your completed hours in your Intern Portal. If you navigated to the “Pre-Service” tab, you will find an FBE Submission From. Once your hours have been verified, they will appear in your Intern Portal.
We’ll help you take care of this step! Your FBE hours must be verified by the person who you observed, the principal of the campus, or the HR department of the school district. The FBE hours will not show as completed in your Intern Portal until they have been verified by email from the supervising individual. After submitting your FBE hours, our system will generate an automated email to the supervising individual. Please ask them to check their spam folder.
Our typical grading time is 3-5 business days, however, there are occasional times when it could take longer.
Yes, you have multiple attempts to pass your projects. Our instructors will provide you with guided feedback to ensure you succeed.
We’re always happy to provide you with more feedback! For any questions or clarification regarding grades or project feedback, please email us at CurriculumSupport@TexasTeachers.org.
Our online instructors are available to answer any questions you may have regarding the training content and curriculum. You can reach them from any page by clicking on the question mark icon. If you can’t find one on the current page, you can always find the help icon on the left slide of your main dashboard. Also, feel free to email us with a specific question at CurriculumSupport@TexasTeachers.org.
For technical issues with Canvas, please take a screenshot of the page on which you are experiencing an issue. Then, you should contact the Canvas support team by clicking on the question mark icon (available on most pages). If you cannot locate the question mark icon, there is always a help button on the left-side menu on your main dashboard. You can also email us at CanvasSupport@TexasTeachers.org.
If you are unsure about what is required of you or have a specific question regarding your personalized training path, please reach out to an Advisor at Teach@NorthCarolinaTeachers.org.
No, you do not. You may complete your Classroom Readiness Training, Field-Based Experience hours, and testing in any order. We offer several optional test preparation courses to help prepare you for many different state exams.
All teacher candidates are required to pass the North Carolina State Board of Education (NCSBE) approved licensure exam(s). Additionally, you must also take the specific content area test in the subject area in which you are seeking licensure. Please note that due to COVID-19 allowances, passing state exams before teaching is not currently required for the 2020-2021 school year.
You may register for exams through the testing vendors, Pearson and Praxis. For more details regarding test preparation, please view this page.
CREATE PRAXIS ACCOUNT CREATE PEARSON ACCOUNT
Typically, your content exam(s) must be passed before seeking employment, however, this is not required for the 2020-2021 school year.
We have licensure exam preparation modules within our online training to help you pass the exams. We also offer a wide variety of suggested resources, including test preparation discounts, on our North Carolina State Testing page. Finally, we encourage you to join our Official North Carolina Facebook Community to connect with your peers to share study tips and ask/give advice.
Absolutely! While you are required to pass the specific content area test in the subject area in which you are seeking licensure, you may also take additional content area tests to meet federal “highly qualified” status. Attaining this status will help increase your marketability as a candidate for a teaching position. For more tips on how to increase your marketability, please read our Marketability Guide.
Absolutely! You ultimately choose which districts to apply with, but North Carolina Teachers has a team of representatives that work closely with schools across the state. We provide thousands of candidate lists, by request, to schools every year, and host both in-person and virtual job fairs. We notify candidates regarding teacher hiring events and list the schools that have recently requested our candidates. We also provide a wealth of resources to help you prepare to get your first teaching job, from online webinars and seminars to resume review services and portfolio guidance.
Currently, the only item required to get hired is your Form RL. If you have passed your content exam, your Enrollment Letter will also help!
Before accepting employment, you must provide your district with a Form Residency License (RL), also known as Certification of Supervision, which is a document that confirms you are eligible for employment. You will need your Form RL to get hired and obtain your Residency License.
We recommend starting your job search as soon as you have received your Form RL! Once you have received a job offer, let us know! In conjunction with your new school, we will submit a request through the NC Department of Instruction (NCDPI) to issue your Residency License.
You should call the school Human Resources department, as each district application is unique.
Congratulations! After you receive a job, it is extremely important to submit the “I Got a Job” form in your Intern Portal under the “Internship” tab. After we submit a request through the NC Department of Instruction (NCDPI) to issue your Residency License, you may then complete your Residency License application.
You will need to apply for a Residency License for your first-year teaching.
We recommend you pay for your Residency License application once you have received a job offer.
You must submit the “I Got a Job” form located in your Intern Portal as soon as you accept an offer to teach.
Once you have accepted a full-time teacher of record and have submitted the “I Got a Job” form in your Intern Portal, we will submit a request through the North Carolina Department of Education to issue your Residency License.
A Residency License is issued for one year and is renewable twice at the recommendation of an employing North Carolina school system; this is what you will first be issued when you first begin teaching. An Initial Professional License is non-renewable and intended for teachers with 0-2 years of teaching experience, and is valid for 3 years. A Continuing Professional License is intended for teachers with 3 or more years of teaching experience and is valid for 5 years. Once you complete all of your program requirements and successfully complete one year of full-time teaching on a Residency License, you will be recommended for either the Initial or Continuing Professional License depending on how many years of teaching experience you have.
All COVID-19 Updates can be found on our webpage, under our Resources tab. Learn more.
We frequently post new, relevant articles, share resources, and keep you informed about all things teaching on our Teaching in North Carolina blog! Learn More.
Do you have another question that you can’t quite seem to find the answer to on this page? Feel free to check out our two other FAQ pages:
PROGRAM EXPLORATION FAQ
RECENT APPLICANTS FAQ
No luck? Submit a new question by filling out the form below!