Transition to Teaching in Nebraska

Applicants must be mid-career professionals or recent college graduates who hold a baccalaureate degree in a secondary field or subject endorsement area that can be matched with a vacancy that could not be filled with a fully qualified teacher* in a High Need LEA and an offer for employment from the participating school system.
Participating school systems must meet the criteria for High Need LEAs as described in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) commonly referred to as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 (NCLB). High Need LEAs typically meet the following criteria: 1) not less than twenty percent (20%) of children served are from families with incomes below the poverty line; and 2) a high percentage of teachers not teaching in the subjects or grade levels that the teachers were trained to teach; or 3) a high percentage of teachers with emergency, provisional, or temporary certification or licensing. (Note: The USDOE interprets “high percentage” to be at least 11 percent.)
The following schools meet the federal criteria of High Need LEA and have indicated a willingness to participate if elements of the program fit the needs of their school system:

Anselmo-Merna

Ansley

Bayard

Chambers

Cody-Kilgore Crawford

Diller-Odell

Humboldt-Table Rock-Steinauer

Hyannis

Keya Paha

Medicine Valley

Minatare

Mitchell

Nemaha Valley

Overton

Palmer

Pawnee City

Prague

Rushville

Sandhills

Santee

Shickley

Sumner-Eddyville-Miller

UMO N HO N Nation

Wausa

Winnebago

Applicants must meet the requirements in Rule 21.

Eligible applicants will be allowed to teach immediately upon receipt of the transitional teaching certificate, which will be issued after processing the necessary paperwork and all Rule 21 requirements are met.

Participating schools will provide a quality mentor teacher for the teacher candidate throughout the length of classroom teaching, and support professional development opportunities for the teacher candidate.

Eligible applicants can receive stipends of up to $1,000 per year for necessary coursework for a maximum of 5 years. The stipends will be considered loans; however they will not be repayable if the applicant teaches in a high need school operated by a High Need LEA for at least 3 years.

Transitional certification is not available for Elementary Education, Special Education, Special Services endorsements, Early Childhood, and Middle Grades.

*A fully qualified teacher is defined as an individual who holds 1) a regular Nebraska (standard, initial, professional, lifetime, trade, teaching or administrative) certificate and 2) the appropriate endorsement for the classes assigned to the position.