Home > Academics > Schools > Don A. Williams School of Education > Wayland Alternative Certification (WAC)
Wayland Alternative Certification (WAC)
The alternative route to receiving a Texas teaching certificate is offered to students who have completed a bachelor’s and/or master’s degree from an accredited university with a GPA of 2.7 or better. The prerequisites for admission to the program include:
- Criminal background check
- English language proficiency requirement
- Take and pass the TxPACT (Texas Pre-Admission Content Test) for chosen area of certification
- Admission to Wayland
After admission to the University and Education Preparation Program, the following steps must be completed:
- Complete 30 hours of observation ( 15 hours of which can be video )
- 150 hours of instruction
- all TEA required trainings
- Pass the appropriate TExES content exam
Per 19 TAC 228.35(b), the student must meet the following expectation prior to being eligible for an Internship:
(b) Coursework and/or training for candidates seeking initial certification in the classroom teacher certification class. An EPP shall provide each candidate with a minimum of 300 clock-hours of coursework and/or training. An EPP shall provide a minimum of 200 clock-hours of coursework and/or training for a candidate seeking a Trade and Industrial Workforce Training certificate as specified by §233.14(e) of this title (relating to Career and Technical Education (Certificates requiring experience and preparation in a skill area)). Unless a candidate qualifies as a late hire, a candidate shall complete the following prior to any clinical teaching or internship:
- a minimum of 30 clock-hours of field-based experience. Up to 15 clock-hours of this field-based experience may be provided by use of electronic transmission or other video or technology-based method; and
- 150 clock-hours of coursework and/or training as prescribed in §228.30(d)(4) of this title (relating to Educator Preparation Curriculum) that allows candidates to demonstrate proficiency in:
- designing clear, well-organized, sequential, engaging, and flexible lessons that reflect best practice, align with standards and related content, are appropriate for diverse learners and encourage higher-order thinking, persistence, and achievement;
- formally and informally collecting, analyzing, and using student progress data to inform instruction and make needed lesson adjustments;
- ensuring high levels of learning, social-emotional development, and achievement for all students through knowledge of students, proven practices, and differentiated instruction;
- clearly and accurately communicating to support persistence, deeper learning, and effective effort;
- organizing a safe, accessible, and efficient classroom;
- establishing, communicating, and maintaining clear expectations for student behavior;
- eading a mutually respectful and collaborative class of actively engaged learners;
- meeting expectations for attendance, professional appearance, decorum, procedural, ethical, legal, and statutory responsibilities;
- reflect on his or her practice; and
- effectively communicating with students, families, colleagues, and community members.
The student is now eligible to be hired by a school district as an intern. During the year of internship, the student must complete a professional portfolio developed via an online course from Wayland. Upon successful completion of one year of teaching and passing the edTPA portfolio, the university supervisor and site supervisor will present the candidate to the Teacher Education Committee. If all requirements and expectations have been met, the candidate will be recommended to TEA for certification.