March 13, 2002
An official look at job titles, by any other name
Districts bestow a myriad of job titles on those who assist teachers in the classroom.
If your job is inside a classroom, working with students and a teacher, the job falls into two areas: teacher aide or teaching assistant, regardless of title.
Teacher aides have employment rights governed by state civil service law. Teacher aides help licensed or certified school teachers by performing non-teaching duties otherwise performed by a regular teacher such as:
managing records, materials and equipment; attending to physical needs of children; supervising students, and performing support teaching duties supervised by the teacher.
Teaching assistants are governed by state education law. They provide direct instructional services to students under the general supervision of a licensed or certified teacher. Their duties include:
working with students on special instructional projects; providing the teacher with information about students that will assist the development of appropriate learning experiences; assisting students in using instructional resources, and in the development of instructional materials; using their own special skills and abilities in such areas as: foreign languages, arts, crafts and music; and assisting in related instructional work as required.
Until Feb. 2, 2004, teaching assistants are required to have completed a four-year high school program, or its equivalent, for a temporary teaching assistant certificate. For a continuing certificate, the teaching assistant must complete six semester hours at accredited colleges, and one year of experience as a licensed teaching assistant.
After Feb. 2, 2004, there will be different levels of teaching assistant certificate.
A Level I certificate will require a high school diploma or equivalent, and passing the state teacher certification examination basic skills test. (This is not a teacher test. It tests proficiency in basic quantitative and communication skills.) The certificate will be valid for one year and can be renewed for one year. In addition to passing the basic skills test, the candidate for a Level II certificate must complete six college credits towards a bachelor's degree and have a year's experience as a Level I teaching assistant. A Level II certificate will be valid for two years and cannot be renewed. In addition to requirements of Level II, teaching assistants must complete an additional 12 college credits for a Level III certificate. The certificate will remain valid as long as the professional development requirements of 75 hours every five years are met. In addition to the 18 college credits required for a Level III certificate, candidates for a Pre-professional certificate must enroll in a college program leading to teacher certification or be employed in a program with an articulation agreement with a college. The certificate is continuously valid, provided that 75 hours of professional development is met every five years.
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