Requirements For Teaching In Alaska, AK

So, you want to become a teacher in the ‘Last Frontier’? Need some help getting a push in the right direction? Well congratulations, you landed here and that’s a good start. Let’s begin by looking at the overview of the teaching industry in Alaska. As of last year there were approximately 134,000 students in the state. Alaska has 530 public schools, broken down into 178 elementary, 35 middle, and 66 high schools. Teachers in Alaska had an average salary of $59,667 (according to bls.gov) in 2009-2010 (not to mention the lovely fact that the state of Alaska pays its residents a dividend every year, when’s the last time your state paid you to live there?). School districts in Alaska boast being on the cutting edge of computer technology and distance education programs, and for the most part all of the schools have up to date computer literacy programs. Let’s take a look at the requirements to obtain teaching certification.

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Preliminary Teaching Requirements in Alaska, AK

  • To be eligible to apply for a teaching certification, you must first satisfy the following:
  • Minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited institution
  • Pass the Basic Competency Exam (Satisfied by the Praxis I, CBEST, or WEST-B)
  • Have an Institutional Recommendation, State Recommendation, or a Proof of Program Enrollment, and submit one of these with the application for certification
  • Take and pass the Praxis II: Subject Assessments administered by the Educational Testing Service
  • Sign and date an affidavit in the presence of a notary
  • Pay the appropriate fee (for most certifications it is $125)
  • Take an approved Alaska studies course
  • Take an approved Multicultural course
  • Provide passing scores in Content Area Examinations
  • Some schools and districts may have additional requirements

Applying for Accreditation in Alaska, Ak

After satisfying these requirements, you must then apply for an Alaska Teaching Certification, in order to do this you must submit a packet including:

  • Submit the application form for certification
  • Official transcripts in from the Colleges/Universities you attended in sealed envelopes
  • $125 nonrefundable application fee

So, what’s next for Teaching in Alaska?

Once you have fulfilled these requirements and submitted the appropriate paperwork, you must go in for state administered fingerprinting and pass a state administered background check. Information on how to do this may be found online. After completing these steps, you are on your way to becoming a teacher and should look into receiving highly qualified teaching status (allows for higher pay), as well as research into which district in the beautiful state of Alaska you would like to teach in.