Why Choose ECP?

Paid Internships with Benefits

As our participants go through their first year of teaching, they are contracted and paid as teachers-of-record with their employing school district and receive full benefits and full-time salary per the hiring district’s salary schedule.

Competitive Fees and Scholarships

We offer affordable pricing that is competitive with other programs and provide flexible payment options. Teacher seeking certification in the critical needs areas receive a guaranteed $2000 scholarship that can be applied towards fees. 

Respected by Districts and Educators

When choosing a certification program, we feel it is important to look for a program that is well respected as being reputable with the school district in which you hope to teach. ECP is a part of an educational community and has developed long-standing collaborative relationships with administrators and teachers in districts across Texas. 

Support Systems

ECP offers a multi-tiered support system which provides future teachers the guidance, coaching and mentoring to thrive during their first year in the classroom and beyond. 

Each participant in ECP will have a designated field supervisor whose purpose is to work one-on-one with teachers, providing guidance, training and other resources as needed. The field supervisor uses open, honest and transparent communication to create safe learning environments. Their approach is never evaluative in nature, but one of compassion and collaboration. During internship year the field supervisor will visit the participant’s classroom, observe lessons being taught and provide individual feedback and support.

ECP trains an on-campus mentor teacher that will help to support participants during their internship year. The mentor’s role is to provide guidance for campus and district initiatives, procedures and the day to day life of a first-year teacher. 

ECP classes are taught using a cohort model. This means that you will attend training with the same group of participants throughout your program. A cohort model allows for collaborative learning and encourages academic and professional success. The relationships formed in your cohort often last throughout your teaching career. 

Blended Instruction

Research shows that students prefer and benefit most from blended training and its ability to combine the luxury of personal scheduling with peer-to-peer interaction. About 2/3 of our classes are face-to-face and 1/3 of our classes are online. Our face-to-face classes give you the opportunity to learn and see effective teaching practices in action and then spend time applying the practices to your own instruction. Our online classes build on the foundational knowledge learned face to face and further prepare participants for the pedagogy exam.

National Recognition

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Innovation and Improvement featured Region 13 ECP in its booklet, Innovations in Education: Alternative Routes to Teacher Certification. ECP was one of six programs featured in this booklet and were recognized as a successful and innovative program. SRI International selected Region 13 ECP to be highlighted in their national study of seven alternative certification programs, funded by a Carnegie Corporation grant, Characteristics of Effective Alternative Teacher Certification Programs. According to the principal investigator and project director, “This study will have the attention of policy-makers across the nation who are looking for solutions to teacher shortages while meeting new federal requirements for teacher qualifications.”