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An Alternative Pathway to Teacher Certification in Charleston

Thank you for your interest in TeachCharleston, Charleston County School District's alternative certification pathway for talented, knowledgeable, and passionate individuals who wish to pursue South Carolina teacher certification. Currently, TeachCharleston offers the following certification fields:

Primary Level

  • Early Childhood (PK-3)

  • Elementary (Grades 2-6)

K-12

  • Art

  • English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)

  • Music

  • Special Education: Multi-Categorical

  • World Languages (French or Spanish)

Middle Level (Grades 5-8)

  • Middle Level Language Arts

  • Middle Level Mathematics

  • Middle Level Science

  • Middle Level Social Studies

High School (Grades 9-12)

  • Agriculture

  • Business and Marketing Education

  • Computer Science

  • English

  • Family and Consumer Science

  • Industrial Technology Education

  • Mathematics

  • Science

  • Social Studies

The three-year teacher development program provides training and professional learning in a cohort setting to prepare and support selected participants for classrooms in CCSD while working as a teacher in one of the district's schools.

Eligibility Requirements

  • Bachelor’s Degree or higher from an accredited college or university with a minimum of 18 credit hours;

  • Transcripts with a minimum overall 2.75 GPA OR completion of all required coursework with a minimum grade equivalency of “C”;

  • Have not previously completed student teaching in a traditional teacher preparation program or earned a teaching certificate;

  • A passing score on the South Carolina Required Examinations.

TeachCharleston Application Process

TeachCharleston

Step 1: Prior to beginning the online application, please complete the TeachCharleston Interest Survey.

Step 2: Access the South Carolina Department of Education's (SCDE) website to complete the Steps to Apply for Certification. Indicate you are seeking certification through Teach Charleston in the online application through the CATS portal.

Step 3: Access Charleston County School District’s (CCSD) Online Application system to begin the application process. Online applications may only be submitted once per educator but may be updated through the application system. 

Upload the following documents to your CCSD application:

Step 4: Eligible candidates are considered for TeachCharleston Fellowship through an Initial Interview. Eligible candidates will be contacted via email for appointments. 

Upon successful completion of the selection process, eligible candidates will be issued a TeachCharleston Statement of Eligibility (TCSOE) from CCSD. 
 

Employment with CCSD

After receiving a TCSOE from CCSD, applicants are eligible to seek employment in CCSD as a TeachCharleston Fellow. 

TeachCharleston Fellows may find it helpful to review job availability through the CCSD application system, Applitrack. Fellows are required to secure employment with CCSD prior to participation in TeachCharleston Basic Training I. 

In addition to a one-year employment contract with CCSD, TeachCharleston Fellows also submit the TeachCharleston Agreement to Human Resources. 

TeachCharleston Fellows – Program Overview

TeachCharleston is a three-year program. The following overview includes information about each year of the program. The timeline provided begins after employment is confirmed. 

Academic Year One:
Fellows attend and successfully complete the following as indicated:
Summer Cohort (hired by July 1)
Basic Training I – 10-day training in July
Summer Institute I – 5-day training in July
Monthly Fellowships 
Quarterly Seminars 
 
Fall Cohort (hired July-September): 
Basic Training I and Fall Institute- training held October to December (to include weekdays, evenings, some Saturdays)
Monthly Fellowships
Quarterly Seminars

Academic Year Two:
Fellows attend and successfully complete the following as indicated:
Basic Training II – 10-day training in July
Summer Institute II – 3-day training in July
Quarterly Seminars
PLT exam

Academic Year Three:
Fellows attend and successfully complete the following as indicated:
Summer Institute III – 1-day training in August
Complete a Focus Project

Request for Professional Certificate

TeachSC

Don’t let finances hold you back from your teaching dreams! Our partners at TeachSC can help. Sign up with TeachSC before you submit your teaching program application, and then apply for their $100 fee reimbursement and enter to win a $1K scholarship!