Secondary Teacher Schools

Schools by State
for Secondary School Teachers:

AK AL AR AZ CA CO CT DC DE FL GA HI IA ID IL IN KS KY LA MA MD ME MI MN MO MS MT NC ND NE NH NJ NM NV NY OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VA VT WA WI WV WY

Career Highlights for
Secondary School Teachers

Training generally required for this career includes: Bachelor's degree.

Jobs and Salary
Median Salary (2008)	$51,180
Unemployment Vs. Other Jobs	Very Low
Jobs (2006)	1,038,000
Job Growth (2006-2016)	5.6%
Jobs (2016 forecast)	1,096,000

Flexibility
Working Part-Time	8%
Self-Employed	0%

Education of Current Workers
Bachelor Degree or Higher	96%
Some College	4%
High School or Less	1%

Relevant Job Titles

(Supplied by experts and industry contributors for this career category)

Accounting Teacher
Algebra Teacher
Art Educator
Art Instructor
Art Teacher
Arts and Crafts Teacher
Athletic Coach
Athletic Instructor
Athletics Teacher
Ballet Teacher
Band Director
Band Teacher
Baseball Coach
Basketball Coach
Baton Teacher
Bilingual Teacher
Biology Teacher
Ceramics Teacher
Chemical Educator
Chemistry Teacher
Childbirth and Infant Care Teacher
Choir Director
Choir Teacher
Choral Teacher
Citizenship Teacher
Classroom Teacher
Coach
Computer Science Teacher
Computer Technology Instructor
Dancing Teacher
Director of Rotc
Drama Teacher
Dramatic Coach
Driving Teacher
Economics Teacher
Educator
English Teacher
ESL Instructor (English as a Second Language Instructor)
ESL Teacher (English as a Second Language Teacher)
Exercise Teacher
Family Consumer Science Teacher
First Aid Teacher
Foreign Language Teacher
French Instructor
Geometry Teacher
German Teacher
Grades 9 Through 12 Teacher
Grades 9 Thru 12 Visiting Teacher
Guitar Teacher
Gymnasium Teacher
Gymnastic Teacher
Health and Physical Education Teacher
Health Teacher
Hebrew Teacher
High School Coach
High School English Teacher
High School History Teacher
High School Math Teacher
High School Physical Education Teacher
High School Teacher
History Teacher
Home Economics Teacher
Home Teaching Grades 9 Thru 12 Teacher
Language Arts Teacher
Language Instructor
Language Teacher
Latin Teacher
Library Media Specialist
Manual Arts Teacher
Manual Training Teacher
Math Teacher (Mathematics Teacher)
Metal Crafts Teacher
Military Science Instructor
Millinery Teacher
Montessori Teacher
Music Director
Music Educator
Music Instructor
Music Supervisor
Music Teacher
Music Theory Teacher
Orchestra Teacher
Organ Teacher
Physical Education Instructor
Physical Education Teacher (PE Teacher)
Physical Fitness Teacher
Physics Teacher
Piano Teacher
Public Speaking Teacher
Reading Teacher
Religion Teacher
Science Teacher
Secondary History Teacher
Secondary Teacher
Sewing Teacher
Singing Teacher
Skiing Teacher
Social Science Teacher
Social Studies Teacher
Spanish Teacher
Speech Teacher
Sports Teacher
Substitute Teacher
Swim Instructor
Swimming Teacher
Teacher
Tennis Coach
Theater Teacher
Trigonometry Teacher
Typing Teacher
Violin Teacher
Vocal Teacher
Voice Teacher
World History Teacher
World Language Teacher

Information Sources

BrainTrack's information on colleges and careers is drawn from many sources, including government databases, BrainTrack's own research, and results from original data analysis algorithms.

Secondary School Teacher Job Description

Career tips, salaries, and lists of schools.

As students move from middle school to secondary school (also known as high school), their horizons are expanding in all directions. High school offers more choices in classes, and coursework delves deeper into areas of interest such as math, science, history, English, art, music, drama, language, social sciences and sports. Teachers of students in grades 7-12 act as coaches, facilitators, key authority figures and role models. They influence the goals, aspirations and confidence level of students who are starting to focus on their future.

There are national and state standards that all secondary teachers are required to follow. Their responsibilities include:

Specializing in particular areas of emphasis, although they may be asked to fill roles in which they have not specialized
Presenting established curricula as selected by the school
Creating lesson plans, coordinating club activities, inviting guest speakers and planning field trips
Preparing students for and conducting national and state tests and assessments, including pre-college tests
Using computers, art, music, movies and video, experiments, books and goal-setting to motivate students to learn
Monitoring behavior; instilling discipline and productivity
Selecting required instructional materials and resources
Administering and grading homework and tests
Coaching individual students and groups; organizing and overseeing group projects
Addressing current issues in the news, and happenings in the world and local community
Encouraging understanding of racial and cultural diversity, and social mores
Exposing students to potential careers and encouraging them to explore career options

Secondary school teachers usually rotate classes, working with quite a few more students in a given school year than do elementary or middle school teachers. Classes are usually quite a bit larger in public schools than in private schools. During the two-month summer break, secondary school teachers plan for the next school year and take courses to continue their education.

Secondary School Teacher Degrees and Secondary School Teacher Schools

A bachelor's degree from a college or university is required for secondary school teachers. They may seek a degree in education, or, if they have a bachelor's degree in an unrelated field, they can attend a one-year professional development program to qualify for licensure. Two governing bodies, the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education and the Teacher Education Accreditation Council, award accreditation to schools with educational programs.

Secondary School Teacher Classes

Required coursework for secondary school education students usually begins during the sophomore year, since most schools require that they wait to apply to the education program until then. Areas of study include psychology of learning, teaching methods, philosophy of education, and the use of computers and other learning technologies. Participation in a student-teaching internship, as well as additional courses in areas of specialization such as math, English, the physical and social sciences, music and / or art are expected.

Online Secondary School Teacher Classes and Programs

Online secondary education degree programs are available, and at least one school with an online program is accredited by TEAC. Although online schools can offer flexibility and convenience, they may be less likely to offer student-teaching internships or job placement upon graduation.

Secondary School Teacher Requirements

In order to qualify for a teaching license, states require that applicants for the test have a bachelor's degree. A degree in education, or a bachelor's degree in an unrelated field combined with completion of a one-year professional development program, from an NCATE or TEAC accredited school, is recommended. Secondary school teachers who wish to work for private schools do not need a license but must have a four-year degree in education.

State boards of education or licensure advisory committees usually grant licenses for teachers of grades 7-12. Requirements vary by state, but generally include a completion of a bachelor's degree, approved teacher training program and student-teaching internship. A minimum grade point average and training in educational technologies may also be required, and licensed teachers may be expected to obtain a master's degree at some point in their career.

How to Evaluate Secondary School Teacher Schools

Consider asking these questions when comparing secondary education programs:

Class size and courses - What is the student-teacher ratio for popular classes? Is the list of course offerings comprehensive?
Tuition and financial assistance - What loans, work study programs and scholarships are available?
Reputation - Has the program been accredited by TEAC or NCATE? If an online program, have direct-learning organizations granted accreditation? Is the school and its education program ranked nationally?
Location - What are the state requirements for getting a teaching license? How well does the state fund education programs and provide opportunities for teachers?
Student-teaching internships and job placement - Does the school have a well-organized and successful student-teaching internship program? A successful job placement program for graduates?

Apply For a BrainTrack Teaching Scholarship

BrainTrack offers a scholarship for teaching students that are planning to teach any grade between kindergarten and 12th grade. The scholarship gives a winning and runnerup award every semester to students currently in a teaching degree program, which can include bachelor's or master's degrees. Applicants are asked to provide essays on their experiences as a teaching student.

Scholarship Details and Submission Form

The BrainTrack Scholarship for Teaching helps current students pay for their education. Entrants must respond to essay questions that are geared toward helping people evaluate teaching as a potential career path. BrainTrack will publish those essays which prove most helpful to future students.

The scholarship is open to students with at least one semester of credits towards graduation with an appropriate degree in teaching. One student award of $1,000 for the best entry and one of $500 for the second best entry is planned for each of two semesters, on an annual basis. Entry deadlines are November 1 and March 1, with awards payable towards the student's current or following semester.

Winners will be selected based on the creativity, focus, overall thoughtfulness, accuracy, and practical value of their responses to essay questions. Determination of winners will be undertaken by a committee that includes independent judges familiar with teaching as well as BrainTrack staff.

For more background on BrainTrack and its scholarships, please visit About BrainTrack Scholarships.

How to Apply

Submit answers to questions designed to help those considering teaching as a career path. All answers must be entered into the scholarship entry form, which is started by clicking the I Agree button below.

Rules

Scholarship entry deadlines are November 1 and March 1 of every year. The deadline for the next scholarship award is March 1, 2010.

The scholarship competition is open to enrolled students who have completed at least one semester of credits in a teaching degree program and are currently pursuing a degree. Students must be enrolled in one or more relevant classes at the time of the entry deadline. Students may be in either a full-time or part-time program. They may also be enrolled in an on-campus and/or online program.
Winners will be notified by email and telephone, typically within six weeks following the entry deadline. All award payments are made to the school, toward the student's tuition.
Candidates may submit only one entry every 12 months.
Entrant's school must be in the US and have accreditation recognized by the US Department of Education.
Entrant must be a US citizen, have permanent resident status, or have an appropriate student visa.
Entrant must be living in the US or if living abroad entrant must be a US citizen or permanent resident currently enrolled in an online degree program with a qualified US-based school.
All submissions become the property of BrainTrack's publisher, FutureMeld LLC, and entrants grant permission to FutureMeld to use their essay answers, school name, and degree status for promotional or other purposes.
Entrants that are selected as finalists will be contacted by FutureMeld to provide one or more references from their school. FutureMeld will contact the reference(s) to verify an entrant's qualifications for the scholarship.
For non-winning entrants, FutureMeld will keep a student's name, contact information, and references private for use only in conjunction with this scholarship.
Winning entrants will have their name published. Winners must agree to a brief telephone interview with a BrainTrack staff writer for publication as part of the winners' announcement.
BrainTrack reserves the right to change rules between scholarship competitions at its discretion and to make rule clarifications at any time as needed.
Questions or comments? Please contact BrainTrack using our contact form.

Relevant Schools That Respond Quickly to Info Requests Through This Site

School names link to detailed profiles. Use the Info from the School link to contact the school directly for more information. You may request information from as many schools as you like.

School	Campuses	Awards	Info
Alvernia College	PA	Certificate	Info From School
Ashford University	Online	Bachelor	Info From School
Baker College Campus	MI	Coursework	Info From School
Bethel University	MN	Certificate	Info From School
Grand Canyon University	Online	Master	Info From School
Jones International University	Online	Master	Info From School
Liberty University	Online	Master	Info From School
Strayer University	DE, VA, AL, MD, UT, GA, NC, PA, WV, TN, FL, DC	Master	Info From School
Strayer University Online	Online	Master	Info From School
University of Phoenix	AZ, UT, TN, FL, NV	Bachelor	Info From School
University of Phoenix Online	Online	Associate, Bachelor, Doctorate, Master	Info From School
University of Saint Mary	Online	Master	Info From School
Walden University	Online	Master	Info From School

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