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Paperwork and Action Item Overview: PhiladelphiaWelcome again to the Greater Philadelphia corps!What follows is an outline of the items you will need to complete to become eligible to teach in Pennsylvania. Please read this document carefully. There are many tricky ins and outs to this process, and errors along the way can jeopardize your ability to be placed on the standard timeline, as well as potentially cost you additional time and money down the road.In addition, please look over this document soon in order to get a sense of generally what will be required. Many of the items below require steps that can be somewhat time-consuming and cannot be completed overnight. These include: Scheduling doctor’s appointmentsScheduling fingerprint appointments and being fingerprintedUnless otherwise noted, all action steps must be completed by no later than June 5, 2015 and all paperwork must be received in the Greater Philadelphia office by that date. You should make a copy of all forms and materials for your records before mailing the originals to us. Please mail your completed packet to: Your NameCorps Member OperationsTeach For America – Greater Philadelphia100 W. Oxford Street, Suite E-3000Philadelphia, PA 19122You may also choose to drop off your paperwork in person at the same address. The paperwork and action item checklist will provide you with a complete list of what actions need to be completed and what items need to be sent. Feel free to send any questions to GreaterPhillyInfo@. Thank you!Alex Leader-SmithRebecca RossiDirector, Matriculation and OnboardingAssociate, Community and School PartnershipsTeach For America Greater PhiladelphiaTeach For America Greater PhiladelphiaImportant note: If you are or will be certified to teach in Pennsylvania or another state by summer 2015, please contact us immediately at GreaterPhillyInfo@ as your steps will be different than those outlined below.TIMS—Teacher Information Management System Purpose: TIMS is the state of Pennsylvania’s online teacher certification system. Once you are hired by your placement school, you will complete your official application for certification on their website. What It Involves: Once you’ve obtained a placement, completing the online application and paying a $125 fee via credit card. Instructions in Detail:You will be unable to complete your application until you are placed. For this reason, you do not need to complete your application prior to June 5. Once you have been hired, we will send you detailed instructions on how to complete this process. School Personnel Health RecordPurpose: The School District of Philadelphia and many Philadelphia charter schools require new teachers to submit this information.What it Involves: Getting a TB test. Having your doctor fill out and sign a form contained in this folder.Instructions in Detail: Have your physician complete, sign, and date the form found in this folder. Make sure your physician completes all sections on both the front and back (except the box labeled DO NOT COMPLETE) and signs in two places: both in the box on the front page verifying your TB Test results and at the bottom of the back page. Make sure you sign on the ‘signature of employee’ line on the bottom of the back page.Please note that both the TB test and the physical exam referenced on this form must have been administered since September 10, 2014 for them to be considered valid. In addition, the date of your TB test must be no more than three months before the date when your physician signs this form. Child Abuse Clearance Purpose: The state of Pennsylvania requires all teachers to receive this clearance in order to be eligible to teach.What It Involves: Filling out an online form. Paying a $10 fee via credit card. Printing out the results.Instructions in Detail:You can complete your Pennsylvania Child Abuse Clearance online. You will need a credit card and a printer to complete this. The cost of this check is $10.Steps to follow:Go to “create a new account” and fill out the necessary informationRead the Terms & Conditions. Clicks accept.Click “Create Clearance Application”For purpose of clearance, select “school employment”Complete the personal information section, previous addresses section, and the household members sectionSelect “yes” to have a certificate mailed to your home addressComplete the e-signature formPay the $10 fee with a credit cardPrint a copy of the completed clearance and mail it to us with your materials. You should also keep a copy for yourself.Note: if you already are in possession of a valid Pennsylvania Child Abuse Clearance dated September 10, 2014 or later, you may submit that directly to the Teach For America office in lieu of requesting a new clearance.PA Criminal Record CheckPurpose: The state of Pennsylvania requires all teachers to receive this clearance in order to be eligible to teach.What It Involves: Filling out an online form. Paying a $10 fee via credit card. Printing out the results.Instructions in Detail:You can complete your Pennsylvania criminal record check online. You will need a credit card and a printer to complete this. The cost of this check is $10.Steps to follow:Go to Record Check in the top toolbar, click New Record Check.Read the Terms & Conditions. Click Accept. Complete the Personal Information section. For Reason for Request choose “School District”. Click Next. Verify your information and click plete the Record Check Request section for yourself. Click Enter this Request.Scroll to the bottom of your screen to confirm it now says View Queued Record Check Requests (1).Click Finished.Click Submit to enter your credit card information. After verifying your credit card information, Click Submit. On the following screen, click your name, which will be a blue link. This will open another window in which will be a certificate with a seal on it. Print a copy of this certificate to mail to us with your other materials. You should also keep a copy for yourself. If you are having difficulty with the criminal record check website, you may want to try reopening it in Internet Explorer. In the past, corps members using other browsers have experienced occasional difficulty with the page.Note: if you already are in possession of a valid Pennsylvania criminal record check dated September 10, 2014 or later, you may submit that directly to the Teach For America office in lieu of requesting a new clearance.Cogent Fingerprinting ClearancePurpose: The state of Pennsylvania requires all teachers to receive an FBI clearance generated by Cogent fingerprinting in order to be eligible to teach. What It Involves: Registering online with Cogent and paying a $28.75 fee. Getting fingerprinted. Sending a copy of your Cogent registration receipt and fingerprints to Cogent – either electronically/automatically if you live in Pennsylvania, or via mail, if you live out of state. Sending a copy of your Cogent registration receipt to the Greater Philadelphia office.Instructions in Detail:In order to register with Cogent Fingerprinting Systems, go to . The cost of registering is $28.75.Steps to follow for online registration with Cogent:Click on Register Online, and agree to the Disclaimer.Fill out the Application Registration. Click next. Print a copy of your registration confirmation to mail to us with your other materials, and a second copy to share with Cogent.Finish your registration by completing the payment information.Getting fingerprinted and applying for these background checks:If you are in Pennsylvania:Locate a nearby Cogent fingerprinting location using the Cogent website.Follow the site-specific instructions to arrange a fingerprinting appointment; some sites will require you to book in advance, while others will take walk-ins.Show up to your Cogent fingerprinting appointment with your registration confirmation and any other required materials.Your fingerprints will be taken electronically and automatically sent to Cogent for review.If you are not in Pennsylvania:You should locate a nearby fingerprinting site and call to arrange a fingerprinting appointment. One easy way to do this is to call your local police station or sheriff’s office and explain you need be fingerprinted for an FBI background check that is a requirement employment. Note some sites may charge a fee for fingerprinting.Go to your fingerprint appointment. You may wish to bring the enclosed fingerprint card with you. (Note: if your fingerprinting site has their own fingerprinting forms, using those forms is also acceptable).Mail a copy of your Cogent registration receipt and one fingerprint card to Cogent.3M CogentAttn: Fingerprint Card Scan PDE5025 Bradenton Ave., Suite ADublin, OH 43017Additional FingerprintsPurpose: Teach For America requires all participants who work with children or other vulnerable populations to obtain an FBI criminal background check.What It Involves: Going to a designated location and getting fingerprinted. (To be clear, this will require you to get fingerprinted a second time at a non-Cogent location as unfortunately, PA state law will not allow Teach For America to access your Cogent fingerprint results)Instructions in Detail: We are in the process of arranging a vendor for this purpose and will follow up with additional instructions via e-mail later this spring. Stay tuned!Test RegistrationPurpose: Requirement for all teachers to become certified in the state of Pennsylvania.What It Involves: Going online and registering for your Praxis and/or PECT exam(s). Paying $115-$330 via credit card, depending on your subject and grade assignment. Forwarding confirmation of your registration to the Greater Philadelphia office. Instructions in Detail:You must complete your registration by May 5, 2015. Please see the Testing Overview available in the online Applicant Center for further instructions.University of Pennsylvania Online ApplicationPurpose: Required for enrollment into your classes at Penn.What It Involves: Deciding whether you want to pursue a master’s degree at Penn or not. Creating an account to fill out an online application. Filling out the online application, including writing a short essay.Instructions in Detail:Before completing this application, you will need to have decided if you wish to pursue the Certification Only option or the Master’s Degree option at Penn. For more information on making this decision, please refer to the Certification Coursework in Pennsylvania overview document contained in this packet, as well as the Penn GSE/TFA website located at you’ve made your decision, you will want to go to the Penn application website at and select the “Create Account” option. Once you have created your account, you may log in and fill out your application, by selecting “online application.” On page 2, please search “Teach For America” to display all of the available programs at Penn. Select the program that best applies to your TFA Philly assignment area (see chart below)Please pay close attention to the programs that are certification only and the ones that also include the Masters (MSEd). Term is Fall 2015Enrollment status is Full-TimePenn ProgramsTFA Philly AssignmentTeach for America, TFA, Elementary Grades Certification, TFA Corps Members OnlyElementary Education K-4Teach for America, TFA, Middle School Grades Certification, TFA Corps Members OnlyMiddle Years 4-8 w/potential English focusMiddle Years 4-8 w/potential Math focusMiddle Years 4-8 w/potential Science focusMiddle Years 4-8 w/potential Social Studies focusTeach for America, TFA, Secondary Grades Certification, TFA Corps Members OnlyBiology 7-12Chemistry 7-12English 7-12General Science 7-12Math 7-12Physics 7-12Social Studies 7-12Spanish K-12Teach for America, TFA, Special Ed Elementary Certification, TFA Corps Members OnlySpecial Education Elementary K-4Teach for America, TFA, Special Ed Middle School Certification, TFA Corps Members OnlySpecial Education Middle Years 4-8 w/potential English focusSpecial Education Middle Years 4-8 w/potential Math focusTeach for America, TFA, Special Ed Secondary Certification, TFA Corps Members OnlySpecial Education English 7-12Special Education Math 7-12Special Education Science 7-12Standardized Tests:You do not need to submit any of the listed standardized test scores to the University of Pennsylvania, even if you have taken these exams. As of 2010, Teach For America corps members are exempt from all Penn standardized test requirements.Statement of Purpose:You must upload a statement of purpose. This can be similar to the personal statement you submitted when applying to Teach For America, except tweaked slightly to answer the question posed by Penn.Recommendations:Your first two recommenders are the individuals who wrote recommendations for your Teach For America application. Your third recommender is Alex Leader-Smith, Director of Matriculation and Onboarding at Teach For America. His relationship to you is program liaison and his e-mail address is GreaterPhillyInfo@.You should select “no” for the question “will this provider be submitting the letter of recommendation online?” You do not need to request that any of these individuals send recommendations to Penn, as the Greater Philadelphia office will forward all required recommendations to Penn directly. In the case of your first two recommenders, these will be the same recommendations that you submitted along with your Teach For America application.ResumeYou must upload a resume. This can be the same resume you submitted when applying for Teach For America. TranscriptsPurpose: Required for enrollment into your classes at the University of Pennsylvania, which are necessary in order for you to become certified to teach in PA. May also be required by your placement school.What It Involves: Once you’ve graduated (or immediately, if you’ve already graduated), sending sealed, degree-conferring transcripts to Penn, to the Greater Philadelphia office, and to yourself.Instructions in Detail: Once you have completed your undergraduate degree, please have your college or university send one degree-conferring transcript to the Greater Philadelphia office, one to Penn, and one to yourself. If you’ve already completed your undergraduate degree, please simply have your registrar send your transcripts now. Please note that if your final transcripts do not indicate that you have completed your undergraduate degree, we will have to ask you to request new transcripts. If you previously took undergraduate or graduate courses at any institution(s) other than your current school, please request that each of them send a transcript to Penn as well. Penn will not admit you into their program until they receive official, sealed transcripts from ALL schools at which you received academic credit that has been applied to your undergraduate degree. This includes universities where you may have studied abroad. Transcripts going to Penn should be mailed to: Office of Admissions and Financial AidGraduate School of EducationUniversity of Pennsylvania3700 Walnut StreetPhiladelphia, PA 19104-6216Transcripts going to Teach For America should be mailed to: Your NameCorps Member OperationsTeach For America100 W. Oxford Street, Suite E-3000Philadelphia, PA 19122Additional RequirementsThe requirements laid out above represent a compilation of the requirements of the state of Pennsylvania, AmeriCorps, our partner schools and school districts, and the University of Pennsylvania as of April 2015. These requirements may change at any time at those institutions’ discretion. Should this occur, or should new requirements arise prior to the time that you enter the classroom, the Greater Philadelphia team will alert you to these changes via e-mail so you can take whatever steps are necessary to ensure that you are able to begin teaching on time in Fall 2015. ................
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