ABCTE Approved to Provide Missouri Elementary Education Certification

Washington, DC – 8/12/14 – The Missouri legislature has authorized the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence (ABCTE) to provide certification for educators in grades 1-6, effective August 28, 2014. The new authorization expands ABCTE’s service in the state of Missouri. Currently, ABCTE provides Missouri teacher certification in the following areas: Biology (9-12), Chemistry (9-12), English Language Arts (5-9 & 9-12), General Science (5-9 & 9-12), History (5-9 & 9-12), Math (5-9 & 9-12), and Physics (9-12).

The new Missouri Elementary Education (K-6) certification expands ABCTE’s offerings in Missouri into an area where ABCTE has an established practice throughout the United States. To date, ABCTE has certified more than 5000 educators nationwide, including 1400 elementary education certifications. Additionally, ABCTE has certified more than 950 educators in the state of Missouri since 2008. The new Missouri Elementary Education (K-6) educator certification will increase the number of high quality educators that ABCTE credentials within the state each year.

For Missouri certification, candidates must complete the required ABCTE curriculum and assessments. Missouri teacher candidates must also meet the following state criteria:

Bachelors Degree with a 2.5 minimum GPA

Attain 90 contact hours as a para-professional, lead teacher in a public or private school, or as a substitute teacher, or combination of any of these. At least 30 of these hours must be at a K-6 level.

ABCTE President & CEO, Shawn McCollough stated the following about the new Missouri K-6 educator certification “We are excited about the opportunity to provide elementary education certification in Missouri. The practice aligns with our mission to provide quality educators in areas of need throughout the United States. We look forward to expanding our service to teacher candidates and Missouri school districts in this capacity.” ABCTE is a national, nonprofit, teacher certification organization. For more information on all of ABCTE’s teacher certification programs please visit https://pakistan.americanboard.org/

Contact: Kimberly Polk, 660-422-1798 (kpolk@americanboard.org)