Secondary Education Teacher Certification Option

Dual Enrollment and the Mississippi Alternate Route to Teacher Certification

The Belhaven University School of Education, other than Music, does not offer a traditional undergraduate program to prepare students to be licensed or certified to teach at the middle or the secondary school levels. Instead students are provided with an excellent opportunity to earn a 4-6th grade, middle school, and/or high school Mississippi Teaching Certificate by enrolling in the School of Education’s Dual Enrollment Program leading to the Mississippi Alternate Route Teacher Certification.

• Students enrolled in an undergraduate Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science Degree program on a Belhaven campus in Mississippi may be eligible to take up to two Master’s Degree level courses in Education as the first two courses leading to Mississippi Temporary Three Year Alternate Route Teacher Certification.
• Students need to be in good standing as a traditional Belhaven University undergraduate student with an overall GPA of 2.75 or better.
• Students are be classified at the Bachelor’s Degree Senior level (within 21 hours of graduation) and have available during their senior year 3 to 6 elective course hours in order to take Alternate Teacher Certificate courses.
• Students must submit a signed Request for Dual Enrollment - Graduate Course Form from the student’s major discipline department/school/campus dean or chair.
• Students will have the understanding that they are required to take and pass the Mississippi State mandated PRAXIS CORE or the ACT(21+) and PRAXIS II (content area) Teacher Exams prior to being allowed to take the Dual Enrollment courses. NOTE: In Mississippi, ACT score of 21 or better may be used in lieu of PRAXIS CORE.
• By state mandate, candidates wanting to teach in 4^th-6^th grades will also have to take and pass the Foundations of Reading Test with a score of 229 or higher prior to taking the two Alternate Route courses.
• Students may only take the following two courses:
  • EDU 501 Measurement and Evaluation Strategies  
  • EDU 506 Classroom Management and Organization  
• Mississippi Belhaven University students permitted to take Dual Enrollment in the Alternate Teacher Certificate Program will be required to have the knowledge of and understand the procedures required by the State of Mississippi for Alternate Teacher Certification as outlined in the Belhaven Graduate School of Education Candidate Handbook.
• Once candidates have received their undergraduate Bachelor’s Degree, submitted application and have been accepted into the Masters of Arts in Teaching Degree Alt/Cert program, completed EDU 501  and EDU 506 , they will be eligible to make application for their Mississippi Three Year Alternate Teacher Certificate.
• Once candidates have received their Mississippi Three Year Alternate Teacher Certificate they are eligible to accept a teaching position within the State of Mississippi (right after graduation) and become a fully paid and licensed teacher. However, they must complete the two additional Master level courses, EDU 502 Teacher Residency I  and EDU 503 Teacher Residency II  as seminar and mentoring courses during their first year of teaching. Upon successful completion of their first year of teaching and passing Dimensions I and II, candidates will be eligible to apply for their Mississippi Five Year AA Teacher Certificate.
• PLEASE NOTE: Students enrolled in a Mississippi MAT Alt/Cert program can receive a Mississippi Alternate Teaching License (valid for three years). The MS Three Year Alternate Teaching License is not valid in another state. Students must teach their first year in a Mississippi school in order to complete their certification process and receive a traditional Five-Year Mississippi Teaching License. The Mississippi Five Year Teacher License is granted after the first year of successful teaching and maybe transferable and accepted in other states with some possible conditions. However, candidates are held responsible for contacting other State Departments of Education to find out the transferability of a Mississippi teaching certificate and any additional requirements of the state or states they are interested in teaching in, in order to be certified and able to teach in that state.

Music Teacher Education
Students seeking a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education leading to teacher certification in music should refer to the Music Education program. See Music (MUS) in this catalogue: Bachelor of Arts in Music Education - Teacher Preparation (Emphasis in Instrumental Music Education  and/or Emphasis in Vocal-Choral Music Education )