Certification Extensions
A certificate extension allows the holder of a valid teaching certificate to teach an additional student population, grade, or subject. Please see the sections below, specific to each specialty, for more information about relevant certificate extensions.
Adolescent Education
Adolescent Education candidates who are willing to take two additional education courses and who have passed the Content Specialty Test (CST) in their subject area, are eligible for the Middle School Extension to also teach that subject in grades 5 and 6. Earning the extension makes the Adolescent candidate better prepared for success in the classroom, and more marketable as a teacher.
In addition, Adolescent Education candidates are eligible to pursue the Certificate in Bilingual Education Extension. The candidate must earn 12 credits in Bilingual Education and complete a 3-credit supervised field-based experience. Candidates may substitute the supervised experience if they have one year of paid teaching experience in a bilingual setting, but are required to complete another 3 credits to meet the 15 credit requirement. The candidate must also take and pass the Content Specialty Test (CST) in Bilingual Education Assessment.
Childhood Education
Childhood Education candidates must also have 30 credits in a subject area (i.e. biology, English, etc.) to be eligible for the Middle School Extension. Candidates who take two additional courses and take and pass the Content Specialty Test (CST) in the subject area, are eligible for a certificate extension to teach that subject area in grades 7–9. Earning the extension makes the Childhood candidate better prepared for success in the classroom, and more marketable as a teacher.
In addition, Childhood Education candidates are eligible to pursue the Certificate in Bilingual Education Extension. The candidate must earn 12 credits in Bilingual Education and complete a 3-credit supervised field-based experience. Candidates may substitute the supervised experience if they have one year of paid teaching experience in a bilingual setting, but are required to complete another 3 credits to meet the 15 credit requirement. The candidate must also take and pass the Content Specialty Test (CST) in Bilingual Education Assessment.
Finally, Childhood Education candidates are also eligible to pursue a certification in Early Childhood Education. After the Childhood certificate issues, candidates who complete two additional courses in Early Childhood development and those who take and pass the CST are eligible for a certificate extension in Early Childhood Education, Birth-2.
Special Education (18 CREDITS)
Candidates certified in Childhood Education or certified in Adolescent Education can get the Special Education extension by completing the 18-credit Advanced Certificate in Special Education + the CST in Students with Disabilities.
Literacy Specialist (21 CREDITS)
Candidates certified in Childhood or Adolescent Education can get the Literacy Specialist extension by completing the 21-credit Advanced Certificate in Literacy + the CST in Literacy.
TESOL (15 CREDITS)
Candidates certified in Childhood or Adolescent Education can get the TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) extension by completing the 15-credit Advanced Certificate in TESOL + the CST in ESOL. Please note that candidates must also have at least 12 credits, or the equivalent, in the study of a second language.
Bilingual Education (15 CREDITS)
Candidates certified in Childhood or Adolescent Education and who are fluent in another language can get the Bilingual extension by completing the 15-credit Advanced Certificate in Bilingual Education + the BEA test in the target language.
Middle School Extension (6 CREDITS)
The Middle School certification enables Adolescent or Childhood teachers with New York State certification to extend their certification to grades 5 and 6 (Adolescent) and 7-9 (Childhood). You must hold a valid Adolescent or Childhood Teacher Certification. Candidates that wish to extend their Students with Disabilities certification to middle school grades may do so as an Individual Pathway applicant. Pace offers two online courses: TCH 455/ED523: Middle Childhood/Early Adolescent and TCH 456/ED524: Differentiating Curriculum and Instruction in Middle Childhood Education.
Adolescent candidates can extend their particular subject area certification to grades 5 and 6 by taking the 2 middle school extension courses listed above (B- or better) with No additional exams.
Childhood candidates can extend childhood certification in the following way:
Candidates must have a minimum of 30 credits in the content area (English, Math, Bio, Chem, History, Earth Science) + the two Middle school extension courses listed above (B- or better) + passing the CST 7-12 in your subject area.
Early Childhood Extension (6 CREDITS)
Students who are New York State certified teachers in Childhood 1-6 can get the Early Childhood Extension by completing two Early Childhood development courses with a B- or above and passing the CST Multi-Subject: Teachers of Early Childhood (Birth-Grade 2) exams (211/212/245). Pace offers the following courses: ED 706 (online) and ED 712 (online) or ED 655A (in person)
Pace Schedule Explorer page. Non-degree applications are available online through Slate.
If you complete the Middle School or Early Childhood Extension courses at Pace AND hold a Pace Adolescent/Childhood degree, we can enter a recommendation for the extension via Approved Teacher Pathway. However, if you do not meet the above TWO conditions, you will need to file for the extension through Individual Pathway in TEACH.