ZA while teaching full time

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ZA while teaching full time

by meme

Mar 29, 2012

Hello, I am a teacher just finishing my second year in lower el, and I have discovered that I LOVE it and am interested in getting my early childhood endorsement! However I know that you must do student teaching which of course conflicts with work...I've been researching it and found that apparently experienced teachers can have it waived but the document I'm reading does not seem very clear if you still have to have work experience in two different age groups or if you can waive the entire requirement. (I've posted it below if anyone wants to look).

So I was just wondering if there are any other teachers out there who have gained their early childhood endoresement while they were teaching, and if so, how they did it and what school they went through...having some info will be good as I continue to look into this with the state.

Thank you in advance.

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KMS The ZA is being phased into the ZS (Early Childhood general and special education). I believe the last ZA test offered will be in July 2012, so the ZS is what you will be working toward. At least in my case, it wasn't much extra work, but resulted in opening up a whole new range of job opportunities. The first ZS test will be offered this upcoming ...See More

Apr 13, 2012

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meme Thank you so much! I had heard for the ZS endorsement but now I understand what it is a little better!

I am assuming I will find that my first practicum I can do in my own clssroom...I also was thinking I might need to do a summer practicum in a child development center or something of that sort. I think that might be a challenge since I l...See MoreThank you so much! I had heard for the ZS endorsement but now I understand what it is a little better!

I am assuming I will find that my first practicum I can do in my own clssroom...I also was thinking I might need to do a summer practicum in a child development center or something of that sort. I think that might be a challenge since I live in a very rural area and I'm not sure what there is around here, but I do have family and friends all over the place so if I need to go elsewhere over the summer it is possible.

It helps to see how it worked out for another teacher. Now I just have to do some more research and make the decision! I am currently in a master's program for a Reading Specialist degree, as my first love is teaching reading. :-) So I am just debating if I should add the ZS endorsement on top of that or switch to the early childhood master's and add the reading endorsement. Decisions, decisions...

Thanks again for you help!

On 4/13/12, KMS wrote: > The ZA is being phased into the ZS (Early Childhood general > and special education). I believe the last ZA test offered > will be in July 2012, so the ZS is what you will be working > toward. At least in my case, it wasn't much extra work, but > resulted in opening up a whole new range of job > opportunities. The first ZS test will be offered this > upcoming October. > > I know there has been a lot of confusion with the new > endorsement - but I can tell you what I've been told thus far. > I am a student at Grand Valley and currently working in a > preschool classroom. I was told that I do need two separate > field experiences/practicums/internships. Each one counts as > a 3 credit course. My first practicum was in my own > classroom. The other practicum I will complete during the > summer months in a year-round special education classroom. > The practicums must be from two different age groups: > birth-2.5 years, 2.5-4 years, or K-3rd grade. One of the > practicums must focus on special needs (I've been told that > it does not have to be a special needs classroom - but that > there does need to be at least a few students in the class > that have special needs. You'll have to get further > clarification on that one from your school.) > > In my opinion, if you are going to get the endorsement, you > might as well get on the Master's track. In addition to the > endorsement classes, I need to complete 1 Foundation Course, 1 > Research Course, and my Master's Thesis or Project. My ZS > certification is 27 credits & my Master's in Curriculum & > Instruction with a Concentration in Early Childhood is an > additional 9 credits.

Apr 15, 2012

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