How to Be a First Grade Teacher in Texas

Teaching first grade in Texas is a multistep process.

For people who like small children and are very patient, teaching first grade can be an ideal career. With a large geographic area and a growing population, Texas is one of the largest employers of first grade teachers in the nation. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) outlines the process for becoming a teacher. You can expect the process to take anywhere from one to five years.

Things You'll Need

• Bachelor's degree
• Teaching certification

Instructions

1. Get a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university. Education is not a major in Texas, so select a major in something that will help you with your career, such as early childhood development or child psychology.

2. Complete an Approved Educator Preparation Program. Many colleges and universities will allow you to complete such a program in tandem with your bachelor's degree. For those who already possess a bachelor's degree, enroll in an alternative certification program.

3. Obtain authorization from your program to take the appropriate teacher certification exam, which in your case is the Generalist EC-4 or Generalist EC-6. Choose the latter if you think you might wish to teach the later elementary grades at some point. If you are certified to teach in another state, this is your first step. Contact the TEA through their website (tea.state.tx.us) before you do so -- some teachers from Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico and Oklahoma are not required to take the exam.

4. Complete the Texas state application for new teachers, which includes a background check and fingerprinting. Your educator preparation program will recommend you online, and then you may complete the application.

References

• Texas Education Agency: Becoming a Classroom Teacher in Texas

Resources

• Educator Certification Online System: Approved Programs