South Carolina Teacher Certification Now Faster

Schools in South Carolina have an ongoing teacher shortage, meaning that not every classroom is led by a certified teacher. Yet, an abundance of local community members have the skills and knowledge needed to teach. American Board—a national nonprofit—is implementing program changes to ensure that it is faster and easier than ever to earn South Carolina teacher certification. No longer will unnecessary hurdles prevent career-changers from pursuing their dream to teach.

American Board’s changes include eliminating a year-long requirement known as Clinical Experience. Now, earning your South Carolina teacher certification is as easy as passing the tests. This means you can finish the whole program in just a few weeks.

Returning to our roots, American Board in South Carolina is once again completely online. Despite being a fully online certification program, your American Board certificate prepares you to teach in South Carolina public schools. 

This change comes at a time when school closures are preventing future teachers from completing a clinical or student teaching experience. Additionally, the change will help ensure that future teachers are fully certified and ready to teach when schools resume their usual scheduling.

How To Earn Your Teaching Certificate in South Carolina

To earn your South Carolina teaching certificate online, simply complete the following four steps.

1. Submit transcripts from your bachelor’s degree program.
2. Pass a federal background check.
3. Study for and pass a subject-area test of your choice.
4. Study for and pass a pedagogy test about the skills of teaching. 

Upon completion of these steps, you will have graduated from the program and will receive your professional teaching certificate from American Board. You’ll then use this certificate to obtain a full-time teaching job and your state teaching license.

Again, because American Board’s program is entirely online, candidates don’t attend any in-person classes or complete a student teaching requirement. Instead, the teacher certification is used to obtain a full-time job in any public school across the state. Newly certified teachers continue to receive support and training through their districts’ inductive programs which are completed while the teacher works as a full-time staff member. 

American Board’s South Carolina Graduates

American Board’s online program for teacher certification is approved by the state of South Carolina. Incredibly, more than 500 South Carolina teachers have started their careers using American Board. Watch the video above to learn how David, a South Carolina father of four, balanced earning his certificate with parenting. To hear from more American Board graduates, visit our Youtube page.  For more information about earning your teaching certificate in South Carolina, visit this site.