School of Education Faculty
When you enroll in the Foundations Quarter, you are considered a tentative candidate for admission to the School of Education. Before Methods Quarter, you will be required to prepare a formal application for full admission to the School of Education.
Upon full admission to the School of Education and fulfillment of prerequisites, you may continue the sequence of courses leading to certification.
Admission to the School of Education requires the following:
- Complete the Foundations Quarter, achieving a 3.0 GPA (“B”) average with no grade lower than a 2.0 (“C”) Your prerequisite coursework must be no more than five years old.
- Receive a favorable recommendation from SPU faculty and staff
- Pass the School of Education interview
- Pass ENG 3301 with a grade of 2.0 (“C”) or better (if admitted to the University autumn 2012 or later).
- Achieve a minimum cumulative 3.0 GPA or a 3.3 GPA in the last 45 credits of college or university work
- Official passing score on the Washington Educator Skills Test – Basic (WEST-B) testing requirement for teachers or official ACT/SAT scores meeting the minimum requirement for reading, writing, and mathematics.
- Accepted into a major
- Take the appropriate Washington Educator Skills Test – Endorsement (WEST-E/NES) for each endorsement being earned.
- Complete fingerprint and pre-residency clearance through OSPI.
- Complete a formal application for admission to the School of Education.
Registration in the Certification Program
You will need School of Education permission to register for most classes in the Certification Program. Before registering, contact the School of Education to confirm that your appropriate prerequisites have been passed.
Certification
All teacher certification candidates are subject to Washington state requirements for the Residency Certificate. These requirements are updated periodically by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and will take precedent over SPU policies. The School of Education will make every effort to keep you appraised of state changes. You are also encouraged to visit the School of Education office in for updates on state requirements.
Upon your successful completion of the Residency Certification Program, the SPU School of Education recommends you to OSPI for your Residency Teacher Certification. Once OSPI receives program completion verification from SPU, you must complete the application process through the OSPI 鈥渆-Certification鈥� system in order to receive your certificate.
The Residency Teaching Certificate is the first certificate in Washington state. All teachers must take action to maintain a current teaching certificate as per OSPI regulations. You are strongly encouraged to monitor your certification status on the 鈥渆-Certification鈥� system and keep appraised of current certification requirements on the .