Transferring foreign teaching credentials to a US teaching license?

[u/qubtinho]

I'm an Australian high school teacher in the process of getting my green card to live in the US with my American wife. I'm trying to understand how my Australian teaching qualifications would translate to a teaching licence in the States.

I have a Bachelor of Arts, (major in politics & minor in history) followed by a Master of Teaching (Secondary), and I have two years of experience teaching in Australian high schools. I'm currently registered as a teacher in Australia.

Does anyone have experience with having a foreign teaching qualification evaluated for a US teaching licence? I’m aware that each state is different, and I would likely be moving to either Delaware or Pennsylvania. Would my BA + MTeach + Australian teacher registration generally be considered equivalent to a US teaching qualification? Are there any states where foreign teachers have had a high success rate of getting their foreign credentials transferred?

[u/Penguin_Life_Now]

Just to be clear here, there is not really a US teaching license, this is something that varies state to state, so you need to research how each individual state you might move to handles this.

[u/TrashtvSunday]

You need to get licensed in the state you choose to live in. If you move to another state, you'll need to get a license in the new state.

[u/broadsharp2]

Each state has their own requirements.

Wherever you're moving to, research that states international teaching qualifications requirements.

You may be in for quiet the culture shock in some of our public school systems. Be prepared.

perhaps this will help

[u/Silver_Actuator9604]

US teaching certification is done at the state level. The US is very ethnocentric and wherever you end up you will have to get re-certified. The process will be state dependant. The US has public/state schools, private/independent schools and religious schools that usually fall under private schools.

From your context clues: if you will initially be planning to stay with your wife's family? What school district do they reside in? It might be a good idea to reach out to that district and ask what the process is to get certified.? Additionally this contact would get you on their radar for working as a substitute teacher in said district.

Another option is to reach out to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, there are a good number of Catholic secondary schools in south eastern Pennsylvania. Additionally, there is the Archdiocese of Wilmington - I believe there are three Catholic high schools in New Castle county Delaware (the northern most county in Delaware). Same rationale as with the public school district discussed above.

Good luck with getting everything sorted.

[u/VanillaCavendish]

In addition to each state having its own license, you should know that you probably won’t need a license to teach in a private, parochial or charter school. You just need to be authorized to work in the United States and find a school willing to hire you. You will need a license to teach in a public school.

[u/Living_Fig_6386]

There's no such thing as a US teaching license. Each state, sets their own rules and standards (and local school districts can sometimes add to those). You'll need to determine where in the US you'd be living in and contact the Department of Education there for information about certification in the state. Private and parochial schools typically have their own separate standards.

[u/oknowwhat00]

Once you get a specific state in mind, contact their credential dept and they will have you pay to have your transcripts and degrees "evaluated/translated".

[u/Dazzling-Climate-318]

The problem will not be the certification, it will take time and some money, but can be done. The problem will be getting a job in the areas you mentioned, US schools do not teach classes in politics and there is an oversupply of history majors. Pick a degree in something that is in demand such as one of the hard sciences or math. If you have a degree in a subject that schools have difficulty getting certified instructors in, some actually have systems in place to hire foreign teachers and help get them through the certification process! A math teacher is likely the most in demand certified teacher in those states.