I'm a sub teacher. What's a fast way to get a teaching certificate?

[Anonymous]

Old thread but wanted to jump in regarding certification through Moreland University (TeachNow). MCPS has entered into a partnership with Moreland and will pay for the certification if you are hired as a teacher with a conditional certification. If you complete the program on your own (you will be in a Moreland cohort but not through MCPS), the cost is approx $6,500. If you are hired as a para, even as a four hour/day para, you will be considered a permanent employee after six months - just make sure you are not hired as a Temp/critical staffing para. Once you are a permanent employee, you can apply for tuition reimbursement up to $3,500 plus fees I believe. Courses submitted for reimbursement must be completed by June 30 of the fiscal year, so theoretically you could complete half of the coursework before June 30 and get reimbursed $3,500, and complete the remaining coursework the following year for another $3,500 reimbursement. I have heard they are strict about the timeline - you must submit the reimbursement form for each course completed within 60 days of the course end date, and I believe there are only one or two people handling the reimbursement requests, so you have to stay on top of it (as with everything else in MCPS it seems).

I have heard really good things about Moreland’s program as far as participants being successful with classroom management, having a higher job satisfaction rate, etc. vs teachers who complete a different alternative certification program or a program like Teach for America. The staff at Moreland have also been extremely receptive to any questions I have had. Advice I’ve been given about this program is to closely follow the rubric when completing assignments and don’t put too much time and effort into the extra fluff (may be difficult for me as a perfectionist who is prone to wanting to make sure everything is 100% my best). Also, because it is a accelerated certification program, it is likely you need to devote 5-10 hours per week completing assignments, which seems doable if you are working as a para but much more difficult if you are working as a teacher, who must submit grades, communicate with parents, etc.

[Anonymous]

I am a sub with MCPS who is looking to do a career change to teaching. I have subbed this year to get experience in the classroom and make sure I like teaching before I make the leap. I have a bachelor's and a master's degree (not in education related fields) and have been debating between Moreland's Teach Now certification program and getting a Masters of Arts in teaching with certification. Anyone have advice on which way to go? Is Moreland a respected way to get certified and does MCPS look favorably upon it and hire teachers certified through Teach Now? I saw that Moreland is a for profit institution which made me a little apprehensive.