Teach Baton Rouge program members have the opportunity to receive alternate certification through the Practitioner Teacher Program (PTP). Teach Baton Rouge will support program members as they complete the five necessary requirements to teach in Louisiana with a practitioner license.

PRAXIS Requirements
The PRAXIS exam is an admission requirement for all new teachers and is administered through Educational Testing Service. To be eligible for the PTP, program members must take and pass the following portions of the PRAXIS exam:
 PRAXIS I (Pre-Professional Skills Test)
 PRAXIS II (Subject Assessments/Specialty Area tests)
*Principles of Learning and Teaching (PLT) test must be taken and passed within the first
year of teaching.

Training Institute
During the spring following their acceptance, Teach Baton Rouge (TBR) practitioner teachers will spend approximately 12 hours in public school classrooms independently observing experienced teachers, analyzing their teaching strategies and documenting their observations.

In the Summer, practitioner teachers will attend a rigorous six to seven week pre-service summer training designed to help new teachers develop their commitment and ability to effect gains in student achievement in their classroom. The institute includes:
 One week introduction to the institute Teaching for Student Achievement curriculum
 A summer school experience in which participants work in groups to teach a class of students under the supervision of experienced teachers
 Daily meetings with faculty to discuss the day's teaching and the institute curriculum to make connections between theory and practice
 Afternoon and evening workshops, seminars, and group planning time

The institute curriculum format will offer opportunities for:
 Observation in EBR summer schools
 Hands-on teaching experience
 Guidance form experienced faculty
 Seminars and workshops on theory and methodology

The institute will be held from late May to mid-July.

After the training institute, program members will have access to a wide support network, including mentor teachers, meetings with group members, ongoing workshops, observations by experienced teachers, and regular communication among new teachers to enhance their own professional development. In addition, East Baton Rouge Parish School System will work to place Teach Baton Rouge members in small clusters at partner schools, so that program members can support each other during the successes and challenges encountered in the first years of teaching.

Teaching Internship
Teach Baton Rouge (TBR) practitioner teachers will assume full-time teaching positions in EBRPSS immediately following their summer training. We will strive to place TBR practitioner teachers in schools with other program participants in order to foster collaboration and professional growth. Practitioner teachers will also participate in a minimum of three full days of focused Louisiana specific workshops in addition to the school districts' pre-service program.

During the first year teaching internship, practitioner teachers will be provided with support in a variety of ways including:

» Content Seminars Program members will meet regularly with a small group of teachers from a similar content area, led by a master teacher. They will focus on student achievement, content-related pedagogy, and best practices.

»  Professional Development Opportunities Professional development will be offered several times a month to provide additional opprtunities to learn teaching strategies and complement what teachers are learning in content seminars.

»  Mentoring Team Program members will be supported throughout their first year of teaching through a team mentoring approach. Program members will be supported by their Program Director, and a Mentor Teacher.

» Performance Assessment System (PAS)
The Performance Assessment System (PAS) is an evaluation and professional development tool used to determine a participant's eligibility for Louisiana certification at the end of their first year in the Practitioner Teacher Program. The PAS provides Teach Baton Rouge practitioner teachers with the opportunity to demonstrate their instructional performance and their students' academic improvement in a comprehensive and meaningful way.

» Louisiana Teacher Assistance and Assessment Program (LTAAP)
The Louisiana Teacher Assistance and Assessment Program is the final component of the PTP process. It is a statewide support program for all new teachers entering service for the first time in a Louisiana Public School System. The program has two basic purposes

»  To provide new teaching employees of the public school systems in this state with a planned program of leadership and support from experienced educators during the most formative stages of a teacher's experience in Louisiana schools.

»  To provide assurance to the state, prior to the issuance of a permanent Louisiana teacher certificate, that the new teaching employee demonstrates competency in the understanding and use of the Louisiana Components of Effective Teaching, determined by the state to be the bases for effective professional performance. These Components of Effective Teaching are the basis of the assessment criteria. For more information on LTAAP, visit www.doe.state.la.us.
Teach Baton Rouge practitioner teachers usually complete the LTAAP component of the Practitioner Teacher Program during the first semester of their second year of teaching.

» Timeline
The timeframe for practitioner teachers to become certified is twelve- eighteen months. Once a teacher has successfully fulfilled all requirements for the PTP - PRAXIS, Summer Training Institute, Teaching Internship, and PAS  he or she can receive a Level 1 professional certificate.

» Certification Costs
The full tuition cost per participant for the Practitioner Teacher Program (PTP) is approximately $3,400 for the 2008-2009 school year. However, due to district subsidies, current program members pay approximately $2,200 in tuition and a Practitioner License application fee of $50.00. The exact costs for the 2009 PTP cohort have yet to be determined.