Your Path to Teaching: Alternative Certification Pathways for Aspiring Educators

Bachelor’s Degree Pathway

Your situation:

• No Bachelor’s degree

• High School graduate
• Returning adult student
• First teaching license in WI

This pathway requires the candidate to complete a bachelor’s degree and an approved teacher preparation program at a Wisconsin college/university. Upon completion, the Wisconsin college/university will endorse you for a Wisconsin license.

Visit the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Pathways to Licensure page for more information and review option #1 for the Bachelor’s Degree Pathway.

Post Baccalaureate Pathway

Your situation:

• Bachelor’s degree
• Career changer, entering teaching
• Educator seeking additional license
• College graduate, seeking MS degree in a new content area

Having earned a Bachelor’s degree, these candidates choose to return to a Wisconsin college/university approved to offer a teacher licensure program. Post-baccalaureate programs provide subject area and teaching coursework that lead to teacher licensure only or towards a master’s degree program.

Visit the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Pathways to Licensure page for more information and review option #2 for the Post Baccalaureate Pathway.

Alternative Route Program Pathway

Your situation:

• Bachelor’s degree
• Career changer, entering teaching
• Educator seeking an additional license in a Wisconsin shortage area (see below)
• Seeking licensure in a shortage area in Wisconsin shortage area: mathematics, science, career and technical education subjects, business education, world languages, special education, bilingual/bicultural and ESL; also regional shortages (Always verify with WI DPI, as shortage list is periodically updated)

For subject-specific licensure, the candidate must have already completed a major in the subject area of the license they are seeking. Wisconsin Alternative Route programs prepare candidates with teaching coursework for Wisconsin licenses in shortage areas. These programs are for licensure only and do not lead to a degree.

Visit the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Pathways to Licensure page for more information and review option #3 for the Alternative Route Program Pathway.

American Board

Your situation:

• Bachelor’s degree
• Career changer, entering teaching
• Complete a certification program that meets the Wis. Stat. 118.197

Green Bay Area Public School District staff are given a discounted rate of $1,450.

As of April 2023, the The American Board for the Certification of Teacher Excellence (ABCTE) is currently the only certification program that meets all of the requirements in this statute. (Always verify this information with the WI DPI as program approvals may change.)

Visit the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Pathways to Licensure page for more information and review option #4 for the American Board.

Experience-based Technical and Vocational Education Subjects Pathway Candidate Profile

Your situation:

• Have training and/or experience in a trade, technical field, and/or vocational area

• Have pedagogical training/experience

• Have a district interested in hiring them to teach technical or vocational education subjects

People who fit this pathway profile are being supported by a Wisconsin public school district to teach technical or vocational education in their school.

To see if this is the pathway for you, visit the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Pathways to Licensure and review the Experience-based Technical and Vocational Education Subjects Pathway.

Out-of-State Teachers

Your situation:

Do you have a teaching license from another state or from outside the United States and seek certification in Wisconsin? Visit the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Pathways to Licensure page for more information and review Out-of-State Pathways.

Substitute Teacher Licensure

Your situation:

• Hold an associate degree or higher from an accredited college or university as demonstrated by an official transcript.
• AND complete an approved substitute training program. NOTE: GBAPS offers an approved substitute training program. Apply to be a GBAPS substitute teacher to get started!

OR

• Are at least 20 years of age
• Enrolled in an educator preparation program, approved by the state superintendent that awards a bachelor’s degree
• Has successfully completed a minimum number of credits to have achieved junior status,
• AND has completed 15 hours of classroom observation

Visit the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Substitute Licenses page for more information.

The above pathways information is from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction page regarding Educator Preparation and Licensing. Always check the WI DPI site for the most current licensing information.

Reach out to Mai K. Vang, Director of Recruitment and Talent Development, for additional information, or visit our GBAPS Careers Page to view our current opportunities!