Middle School Endorsement
College of Education

Most requirements for teaching at the middle grades level were not changed in the new rules for endorsements. The middle grades encompass grades 5-8 for elementary certificates and 6-8 for secondary certificates. All middle grade endorsements require 18 semester hours of credit in content courses, plus six semester hours of credit in courses designed to acquaint the teacher with the special aspects of teaching at that level. These endorsement requirements alone will not make a teacher highly qualified in the core academic areas for NCLB purposes.

Elementary, secondary and special certificates may be endorsed for teaching at the middle grades level. Several subjects, media, reading, mathematics, bilingual and English as a Second Language have a specific distribution of content that must be met before a teacher may obtain these endorsements. For specific requirements see below.

Middle Grades Endorsements

Endorsements at the middle grades level require 18 semester hours of coursework in the endorsement areas. In addition, all middle grades teachers must have the following pedagogy courses:

• 3 semester hours of coursework that includes middle-grade philosophy, middle-grade curriculum and instruction, and instructional methods for designing and teaching developmentally appropriate programs (i.e., addressing the cognitive, emotional and physical development of each child) in the middle grades, including content-area (e.g., science, social sciences) reading instruction.
• 3 semester hours of coursework, approved by the college of education or other institutional unit governing teacher education that includes educational psychology focusing on the developmental characteristics of early adolescents, the nature and needs of early adolescents, and the role of the middle-grade teacher in assessment, coordination and referral of students to health and social services.
  

The Elementary certificate may be endorsed in middle grades 5-8; the Secondary certificate may be endorsed in middle grades 6-8 in the following areas:

Agricultural Education Art Bilingual Education Biological Science Business/Marketing/Management Computer Applications Computer Science Dance English as a Second Language Family & Consumer Science Foreign Languages General Science General. Geography Health Education Industrial Technology Education Language Arts Mathematics

Media (Until 6/30/06) Library Information Specialist (After 6/30/06) Music Physical Education Physical Science Reading Specialist (Requires Approved Program) Reading Teacher Safety & Drivers Education Self Contained General Education (Requires Approved Program) Social Science Speech Speech/Theatre Technology Specialist Theatre/Drama

The following middle grades subjects require a distribution of the 18 semester hours of work in the content area:
 

Requirements for Middle Grades Bilingual Endorsement:

Persons seeking this endorsement must have a total of 18 semester hours of coursework required below and meet the other requirements:

• A valid professional Illinois teacher certificate.
• Bilingual clinical experience totaling 100 clock hours or three months teaching experience in bilingual programs.
• Successful completion of a language examination in the non-English language to be taught.
• Credits totaling 18 semester hours distributed among the following course areas:

a.  Foundations of Bilingual Education
b.  Assessment of Bilingual Students
c.  Methods and Materials for Teaching Limited-English-Proficient Students in Bilingual Programs
d.  Cross-Cultural Studies for Teaching Limited-English-Proficient Students
e.  Methods and Materials for Teaching English as a Second Language.

(Note: these endorsement requirements are identical to the approval requirements)

Requirements for Middle Grades English as a Second Language Endorsement

Persons seeking this endorsement must have a total of 18 semester hours of coursework required below and meet the other requirements:

• A valid professional Illinois teaching certificate.
• ESL clinical experience equal to 100 clock hours or three months teaching experience with ESL students.
• Credits totaling 18 semester hours distributed among the following course areas.

a.  Linguistics
b.  Theoretical Foundations of Teaching ESL
c.  Assessment of the Bilingual Student
d.  Methods and Materials for Teaching ESL
e.  Cross-Cultural Studies for Teaching Limited-English-Proficient Students

Requirements for Middle Grades Endorsement in Foreign Languages

18 semester hours of content courses in a specific language; see also the requirements for secondary language endorsement that provides several other options for endorsement.

Requirements for Middle Grades Mathematics Endorsement

A three-semester hour course in methods of teaching mathematics in the middle grades and 15 semester hours selected from four of the topics below

A. Math content courses for elementary teachers,
B. Calculus,
C. Modern algebra or number theory,
D. Geometry,
E. Computer science,
F. Probability and statistics,
G. History of mathematics.

Requirements for Middle Grades Media Endorsement
Until June 30,2006

Persons first employed on or after September 1, 1978, as media professionals or library information specialists serving any of grades 5 through 8 are required to have completed 18 semester hours in the field that address

• administration,
• organization (cataloging and classification),
• reference, and
• selection of materials

Library Information Specialist On July 1, 2006

Individuals seeking the middle grades endorsement in Library Information Specialist will be required to complete either a major in the content area or they must have 24 semester hours of content and pass the content test for Library Information Specialist.

Requirements for Middle Grades Technology Specialist Endorsement

24 semester hours of content and passing the Technology Specialist content test.

Questions?

Please contact Dr. Linda Pincham to obtain more information.  You can e-mail Dr. Pincham at lpincham@roosevelt.edu.