Accelerated Secondary

Begin your rewarding career as a secondary teacher in Texas! The application for the 24-25 school year has closed. The application for the 25-26 school year for candidates outside of the Region 13 service area will open October 21, 2024. Candidates within the Region 13 service area may apply to our Secondary Program.

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Become A Certified Teacher

In the Accelerated Secondary (ASEC) Program, we aim to help educators integrate their passion and knowledge into the secondary classroom using evidence-based teaching practices. Teachers within our program will receive a blended model of online and teacher-directed classes as well as continuous support in and out of the classroom.

ASEC is an accelerated program, designed to provide a pathway to teacher certification for professionals across the state of Texas by way of a Statewide Cohort and a local, Austin-based cohort.

ASEC has admission cycles occurring from March – August. Participants will prepare for content TExES Exams while simultaneously securing their own teaching position. Instruction to prepare for the first days with students begins mid-July.

Accelerated Secondary Certification Options

Middle Level

  • Mathematics 4-8
  • Mathematics/Science 4-8
  • Science 4-8
  • Social Studies 4-8

Secondary Level

  • Chemistry 7-12
  • English Language Arts & Reading 7-12 
  • Life Science 7-12
  • Mathematics 7-12
  • Math/Physics 7-12
  • Math/Physical Science/Engineering 6-12
  • Physical Science 6-12
  • Science 7-12
  • Social Studies 7-12
  • Dance 6-12
  • Journalism 7-12
  • Speech 7-12

All Level

  • American Sign Language (ASL) EC-12
  • Art EC-12
  • Health EC-12
  • Languages Other Than English (LOTE) French EC-12
  • Languages Other Than English (LOTE) German EC-12
  • Languages Other Than English (LOTE) Latin EC-12
  • Languages Other Than English (LOTE) Spanish EC-12
  • Music EC-12
  • Physical Education EC-12
  • Theatre Arts EC-12

Certification Options

View all the certification options available through ECP

ASEC Cohorts

Austin Cohort

  • For candidates employed by schools within the Region 13 service area.
  • Candidates in this cohort will attend live classes held at the Region 13 Education Service Center, in addition to classes held via Zoom and online, self-paced coursework.

Statewide Cohort

  • For candidates employed outside the Region 13 service area.
  • Candidates in this cohort have the option to attend live classes at one of the locations below or attend all live classes via Zoom, in addition to online, self-paced coursework.
        • El Paso, Region 19 Education Service Center
        • San Antonio, Region 20 Education Service Center

Program Requirements

Bachelor's Degree

Candidates must have a degree earned from and conferred by an accredited institution of higher education.

Min 2.5 Grade Point Average

Minimum 2.5 GPA on all coursework or 2.75 in the last 60 semester hours of completed coursework.

Official College Transcripts

Request your official transcripts be sent to the ECP office.

Content Specific Course Work

Candidate’s college transcript must include 24 semester hours (12 upper level) in content specific related content

Pre-Admission Content Test

Applicants who do not meet the content specific  course work requirement may submit evidence of a passing score on the Pre-Admission Content Test (PACT).

Requirements

View your content area's specific certification requirements

Curriculum

Our certification program curriculum is aligned with Texas Education Agency standards and educational best practices.  All curriculum is taught by certified staff and content area experts.

Training

About 1/3 of our classes are live instruction (live at a local site or via zoom) and 2/3 of our classes are online, self-paced. Participants employed by schools within the Region 13 service area will attend classes at the Education Service Center Region 13 in Austin.

Participants will be required to attend training that will continue to build on instruction learned during pre-service training.

In addition to the pre-service training, program participants will receive training specific to their certification program which includes:
  • delivering engaging instruction
  • integrating content specific strategies into lesson design
  • developing and using student assessments
  • understanding student diversity and instructional differentiation
  • preparing for formal classroom observations
  • preparing for TExES PPR exam
  • preparing for TExES content exams
  • implementing Marzano’s high-yield strategies
  • developing and using a variety of questioning strategies
  • integrating the core principles from The Fundamental Five

    Technology

    In the Secondary certification program, technology is an integral part of curriculum and instruction. Our program emphasizes:
    • incorporating the effective use of current technology in instruction
    • evaluating students’ technologically produced products and projects
    • utilizing technology applications in problem-solving situations and project-based learning activities
    • managing technology platforms to increase communication with student families on academic and behavior progress

    What’s Next?

    Info Sessions

    Find out more about our programs by attending one of our info sessions.

    Apply

    Complete our online application and take the first step in becoming a fully certified teacher.