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Holy Family

Pennsylvania Department of Education Requirements

In addition to fulfilling the University requirements for certification and/or graduation, students also must meet specific state requirements:

  • Students must submit required clearances
  • Students must pass all required tests before submitting an application for state certification. The state-mandated passing scores are published each year and are available in the School of Education Office (ETC 445) or on the School of Education website (www.holyfamily.edu/sedu/index.shtml).

Application for Pennsylvania Level I Certificate

The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) will no longer accept paper applications for teacher certifications. New certification applications must be submitted electronically. This new on-line system operated by the Pennsylvania Department of Education is called the Teacher Information Management System or TIMS.

School of Education Office ETC 445 
Holy Family University 
9801 Frankford Avenue
Philadelphia PA 19114-3565

Application for Supervised Field Experience

Upon completion of all course requirements for teacher certification and submission of passing scores on all tests required by the PDE, all students who have no prior Pennsylvania certification must enroll in a Supervised Field Experience. This is a full-semester, full-time responsibility requiring placement in a classroom setting, five days per week for 14 weeks under the supervision of a cooperating teacher. For those employed as a full-time teacher, this requirement can be satisfied in the teacher’s own classroom, as long as the teaching assignment is appropriate for the certificate sought. In either case, this "student teaching" experience is supervised by Holy Family University Education faculty. Students must receive at least a satisfactory score of one (1) in all categories of the PDE 430.

Applications for "student teaching" or intern teaching must be submitted by February 1 preceding the academic year in which this experience will occur. Admission to "student teaching" requires that the student meet at least these requirements:

  • Formal admission to the School of Education, including completion of all undergraduate course requirements
  • Satisfactory completion of all required coursework
  • Completion of a minimum of four courses in the Holy Family University Graduate program
  • Submission of all passing scores on appropriate tests required for Pennsylvania certification
  • Evidence of having completed a 75-hour, one day per week field experience, specifically EDUC 545 Field Practicum Experience/Seminar
  • Demonstration of a disposition that is conducive to effective teaching: participation in support services provided by the counseling center or through the psychology staff may be required
  • Satisfactory overall academic achievement: i.e., a minimum overall graduate GPA of 3.0 (B) and a minimum graduate GPA of 3.0 in the pedagogical studies
  • Submission to the Field Placement Office (ETC 441 or ETC 442) of a current TB test, PA Child Abuse Clearance (ACT 151), PA Criminal Background Check (ACT 34), Federal Criminal History Records (ACT 114/Fingerprinting), and a completed Arrest/Conviction Report and Certification Form (ACT 24) as required by the Pennsylvania Department of Education
  • Satisfactory recommendation by the student’s advisor.

Upon meeting these criteria, students without full-time teaching assignments are placed with certified cooperating teachers in local schools for the full 14-week experience. Any students not meeting the above criteria may be required to complete remedial activities or be excluded from the supervised field experience semester. Those excluded students will not be recommended for state certification but may be able to complete the degree requirements.

See the program Student Handbook for any additional criteria.

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