Kentucky not only hosts programs that run the gamut of program delivery options — hybrid, online, ESL or EFL endorsement, international practicum, credit for working in campus-based Intensive English Programs – but it also has multiple programs that have earned spots on the National Council for Teacher Quality (NCTQ) 2013 Honor Roll and U.S. News & World Report’s 2013 list of the best online education programs in the nation.
ESL Teacher Certification
The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) and its Education Professional Standards Board (EPSB) oversee the state’s teacher certification and ESL endorsement process.
Kentucky teachers who already hold valid licenses to work in the state’s public K-12 schools can pursue an ESL endorsement program as an add-on to their certificates. In addition, students must take six semester units of a foreign language or demonstrate comparable proficiency.
Alternative Certification Options
The guide to Alternative Routes to Teacher Certification, published by KDE, summarizes alternative licensure options for would-be educators, among them:
- Option 1: Exceptional Work Experience
- Option 2: Local District Training Program
- Option 3: College Faculty
- Option 4: Adjunct Instructor
- Option 5: Veterans of the Armed forces (Troops to Teachers)
- Option 6: University-Based Alternative Route
- Option 7: Institute Alternative Route
- Option 8: Teach for America (TFA) Alternative Route
Options 1, 2, 4, 7, and 8 require the candidate to procure a district job offer, first.
Master’s in TESOL Programs
Campbellsville University‘s online offerings were ranked by U.S. News & World Report in its top 20 graduate education programs in 2013. It offers a Master of Arts in TESOL. Murray State University offers a Master of Arts in TESOL (in a traditional format, online, or as an endorsement). University of Kentucky‘s Master of Arts in Teaching English as a Second Language program has earned a spot on NCTQ’s 2013 list of institutions with multiple strong programs.
