Initial Teaching Certificates
What is an Initial teaching certificate? Illinois has a three-tiered
certification system: 1) Initial, 2) Standard and 3) Master
teaching certificates. Initial
teaching certificates are issued to teachers who have
recently completed approved teacher preparation programs
or to out-of-state certified applicants who have less
than four years of teaching.
Initial certificate holders, whether employed in public
or nonpublic schools, must meet the requirements to move
from Initial to Standard certification. To do so, you must
accrue four years of teaching and complete one of the professional
development options.
What are my professional development options? (complete
one)
How do I move from Initial
to Standard?
To learn important
details, read “Procedures
for Moving from Initial to Standard Certification.”
What paperwork will I need?
Forms are in PDF format.
If you do not have Adobe Acrobat software that enables
you to read PDF files, click on
the “Plug In” below for a free download.
You may also submit forms electronically through ECS (Educator Certification System).
ECS
You can use the online Educator
Certification System (ECS) to submit your professional development option
for a
recommendation, apply for the Standard, pay registration,
make name changes and order duplicate certificates,
etc. You can find a link to ECS in the upper left-hand
corner
of the State Board website.
Regional Superintendents are locally elected officials
who administer Regional Offices of Education, which serve
one or more counties. Certificate registration, applications
for state certificates and endorsements are processed through
Regional Offices, which are not entities of the State Board.
If you have questions or wish to submit certification documents,
please contact the Regional Office that serves the county
where you are employed or if you are not currently employed,
the area where you live. (Educators who no longer live
in Illinois register or apply through the Regional Office
that last registered their certificates.) Contact information
can be found in area phone books under local or county
government or on our website.
The State Board serves as the Regional Superintendent
for City of Chicago in the absence of an elected official.
The Division of Teacher Certification is located in the
James R. Thompson Center, 100 West Randolph Street, Suite
14-300 Chicago, IL 60601. Hours are Monday through Friday
from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. City of Chicago teachers moving
from Initial to Standard should follow instructions at
the following web address: http://www.isbe.net/certification/pdf/entering_pd_ecs.pdf.
If you have any questions or wish to submit certification
documents, please visit the office or call 312-814-8113.
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