Certification Options
Students may enter certification programs as undergraduates majoring in early childhood
education, dual certification in elementary and special education or secondary education
in a specific subject area. ECE majors may complete a minor. Students who are seeking
secondary certification must choose a major in the intended secondary subject teaching area.
Multidisciplinary breadth for all students is demonstrated through completion of additional
general education courses beyond Hood’s Core Curriculum. See program requirements for
details.
Hood’s Department of Education offers teacher certification programs for holders of a
baccalaureate degree. They may become certified to teach in early childhood education, dual
certification in elementary and special education and secondary education in the subject areas
of art (preK-12), biology, chemistry, English, French, history, mathematics and Spanish.
A 2.75 G.P.A. on a 4.0 G.P.A. scale in baccalaureate work is required. Students who select
this option must meet certification requirements through satisfactory completion of their
program’s required content and professional education courses. Contact the Admission office
for more specific information regarding acceptance into and requirements for these programs.
All teacher certification programs are approved by the Maryland State Department of
Education and the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE)
using nationally recognized standards. Hood College also meets the Title II requirements of
the Higher Education Act. Refer to www.msde.state.md.us for Hood College’s Institutional
Report or to the Title II Institutional Report attachment in this catalog.
Program Components
Continuous Field Experiences:
Extensive and continuous field experiences are at the
heart of the teacher education programs. Beginning in the first education course, students
participate in field experiences in local professional development schools.
A professional development school (PDS) is a collaborative effort between a public school
and Hood College to strengthen and enhance teacher candidates’ pre-service professional
development within the public school setting. Additionally, PDSs provide continuous
professional development to in-service teachers working in the PDS sites, thus providing for
the ongoing development of both pre- and in-service teachers.
Performance Assessment:
In order to begin the intensive, yearlong internship (Phase II/
III) all teacher certification candidates submit an electronic entry folio. Exit folios, submitted
during the last semester of the yearlong internship and earning a score of Proficient or better,
are required for completion of the certification programs.
Praxis: Passing Praxis I and II is required for the successful completion of each certification
program. Refer to individual programs for details.
Grade Point Average (G.P.A.) Requirement:
Students must achieve a 2.75 cumulative
G.P.A. on a 4.0 scale and a 2.75 G.P.A. in education courses at Hood College for admittance
into the extended internship of the teacher certification programs. Students are expected to
maintain a 2.75 cumulative G.P.A. in education course work. Furthermore, a student earning a
C- or lower in required education courses may not continue in the teacher education programs.
Certification:
Upon successful completion of one of the teacher education programs and
attainment of the Maryland state minimum scores on all state-required Praxis I and II exams, students are eligible for certification to teach in Maryland with reciprocal certification to teach
in nearly all other states. It is the student’s responsibility to contact individual states other than
Maryland for information regarding certification requirements for specific programs. Teacher
candidates should also be aware that local school systems may impose additional requirements
beyond state certification.
Mandatory informational meetings regarding application procedures, portfolio construction
and deadlines are held each semester. As with most colleges and universities, there is an
additional fee required for the teaching internship, formerly known as “student teaching.”
Interns are responsible for their own transportation to and from field experiences. Variation
from Hood’s holiday and vacation schedules may be required to accommodate local school
district calendars.
e-Portfolio:
All education programs require the candidates who intend to be program
completers to use the Chalk and Wire e-Portfolio system to create a program e-Portfolio with
specified performance assessments and activities. Candidates enrolling in EDUC 204 will
begin to post their coursework electronically and will use the e-Portfolio for the remainder of
their coursework in education. Transfer students will begin using the e-Portfolio system upon
entering the education program at Hood.