Diane Sherman - Coordinator, Beginning Teacher Programs        239-337-8630

Who is Eligible?
The District Certification Program (DCP) is intended for new teachers who have a non-education degree and who need to complete Professional Preparation as one of the Florida Department of Education’s (DOE) requirements for a Professional Teaching Certificate.  Applicants must be a full time teacher in a Lee County Schools PreK-12 classroom and hold a temporary teaching certificate from the Florida Department of Education. 

Click here for information on applying for a temporary teaching certificate from the Florida Department of Education:  http://www.fldoe.org/edcert/

Click here for information on applying for a position with The School District of Lee County: http://personnel.leeschools.net.

Program Description 
In Lee County, DCP is an intensive, web-based program that is intended to be completed in 1-3 years.  To complete the program, candidates must successfully complete 23 complex performance assessment tasks related to the twelve Educator Accomplished Practices, complete Reading Competency 2, receive final exit approval from the candidate’s Principal, and achieve a passing score on the Professional Education certification exam.  The DCP satisfies the DOE requirement of Mastery of Professional Preparation (college education courses) and Professional Education Competence (a beginning teacher program---A.P.P.L.E.S. in Lee County) for professional teacher certification. 

Cost
There will be no financial cost to District candidates accepted into the program during the 08-09 school year.  Candidates who withdraw from the program prior to completion or who do not complete the program prior to the expiration of their temporary teaching certificate will be responsible for all costs incurred by the district for that individual’s participation, not to exceed $800.00. (Each withdrawal will be reviewed by the DCP Coordinator and the Director of Staff Development to determine financial responsibility based on the individual circumstances.)

Charter School Employees: Please contact your principal to determine your eligibility for this program.

How to Apply
To apply for entry into DCP, please submit the following to the Curriculum and Staff Development Center:

·         Completed Candidate Application Information (page 1)

·         Completed Candidate Application Responses (page 2)

·         Signed Statement of Commitment (page 3)

·         Signed Statement of Support (page 4)

DCP Application

In the event that more candidates apply than can be accommodated, a selection committee will review applications using a rubric to determine new candidates.

By When
Deadline for all applications to be received in the Curriculum & Staff Development Center is October 12, 2009.

Routes to Certification

(The following links are to third-party Web sites that are neither hosted nor endorsed by The School District of Lee County.)

Overview of Florida’s Alternative Certification Program 

Sample Assessment Tasks

How to Apply
Next Enrollment Period - September 2009