Please help with a degree plan for my daughter

[Suddenlyshestudies]

My daughter is a 24 year old single mama to 2.  She was homeschool and completed an AA at our local community college while homechooling.  She is now working full time, but not making much money and needing to finish her degree.  She is interested in the quickest way to become a teacher.  We are thinking (but we might be wrong) that the fastest way would be to get a liberal arts degree from tesc and then do an alternative certification route.  You all were so helpful in pointing me in the right direction, so I'm hoping someone can do the same for her. 
ARH 2051 Art History:Renaiss to Contemp 3.00  B 
ASN 1999 Asian Studies Elective 3.00 B 
SLS 1101 The College Experience 3.00 A 
SPN 1120 Elementary Spanish I 4.00  A 
ARH 1000 Understanding Art 3.00  C 
ART 1300C Drawing I 3.00  A  
POS 2041 American National Government 3.00 B 
SPN 1121 Elementary Spanish II 4.00  C 
ART 1201C Design I 3.00 C 
ENC 1101 Composition I 3.00 B 
PHI 1600 Studies in Applied Ethics 3.00 B 
SPC 1017 Intro Speech Communication 3.00  A 
ART 1750C Ceramics I 3.00 3.00 A 
HUM 2210 Western Humanities:Ancient to 3.00 B 
LIT 2110 World Lit I Ancient-Renaissanc 3.00 C 
ARH 2050 Art History:Ancient to Gothic 3.00  A 
AST 1003 The Solar System 3.00 B 
MAT 1033 Intermediate Algebra 3.00  C 
PSY 1012 General Psychology 3.00  A 
BSC 2085 Human Anatomy & Physiology I 3.00 D 
BSC 2085L Human Anatomy & Physiol Lab I 1.00 D 
MAC 1105 College Algebra 3.00 C 
SPN 2200 Intermediate Spanish I 3.00 C 
MGF 1107 Mathematics forLiberal Arts II 3.00 B 
CGS 1070 Basic Computer & Info Literacy 1.00  B 3.000 
REL 2300 World Religions 3.00 B 
STA 2023 Elementary Statistics 3.00 D 

I believe this is a total of 79 credits, all lower level and I'm guessing Gen Ed since these were all obtained while getting an AA.  Thanks for any help you all can provide.

[cookderosa]

It would be super-helpful if you could post a link to the state board of ed's route that would give the specific educational requirements for a teacher's license/alternative entry for the state she's in.

[dfrecore]

I think your best bet is WGU - they have a BA with Licensure program for all 50 states - at least, that's what I think it is, from what I've read.

I would contact them and see what they say, especially if you already have an AA that you can use. Sometimes WGU lets you get a waiver for the Gen Ed requirements for the degree; if they don't, then you would definitely want to do alternative credit to get those credits completed before enrolling.

The key with WGU - do not ENROLL until after you hear from them about what will/won't transfer, then come back here and we'll tell you what to do for the credits that can be gotten quickly/cheaply, and then once you're done, THEN enroll. If you enroll there, they will not accept any more transfer credits, which would be a shame.

If you contact them, after checking out their website, ask how many terms you can finish in. Not best-case scenario if you go fast - this is one of those degrees that has a minimum amount of time spent in the program, and you need to know how many terms that is.

[allvia]

I second the WGU recommendation. Plus your daughter can use financial aid; and her scenario sounds like she may be eligible for Pell Grant money (which could cover almost the entire cost off attendance for WGU).  Also WGU is self-paced (most flexible schedule) on courses which would seems like it would be ideal for a working mother of 2 - https://www.wgu.edu/online-teaching-degrees.html#

[Suddenlyshestudies]

Thank you so much.
She has applied to WGU with a free application code and is waiting to hear from them. Here is the alternative route to certification according to our county school board's website. This seems like it may be the quicker option, unless there are things we aren't aware of.
In the meantime, we are thinking that she still has room for gen ed and free elective credits, so she is working on the 2 free Sophia credits and will then do their Ancient Greek Philosophers course.

How to obtain a teaching position and how to obtain a temporary certificate:

There are two ways to become eligible to be hired by Pinellas County Schools – 1) passing a state subject area exam. We highly recommend that you start with your subject area exam since it is required anyway for certification and will guarantee your letter of eligibility from the Florida Department of Education (DOE) or 2) submitting your official college transcripts to the Florida Department of Education (DOE) to obtain a statement of eligibility.


To sign up for a subject area exam, go to http://www.fl.nesinc.com. Subject area tests are available online at a testing center with immediate unofficial results for most tests. Study guides are available through the local bookstores or used book internet sites. The cost of the test is $200. You may also take the General Knowledge exam to be proactive although it is not required until after you are hired.


To receive a statement of eligibility, go to the DOE web site at http://www.fldoe.org/edcert and click on Career Changer or College Graduate of a Non-education Program. This is where you apply for a teaching certificate. You may apply for up to three subject areas at one time. The DOE will evaluate your application based on your college transcripts and any subject area test(s) you have taken. You will receive a statement of eligibility outlining your status. If you are not eligible to teach a subject, the DOE will explain what you need to do to become eligible. The statement will also outline what criteria you must fulfill to qualify for a professional teaching certificate. Keep your statement of eligibility so that you can refer to it when you are hired and you continue to complete the requirements. You may opt to enter the Transition To Teaching Program to complete your certification requirements in lieu of completing college courses.


PCS Online Application: Once you have obtained a passing score on your subject area test, apply online with Pinellas County Schools at Instructional Application Process. Click on the red button to access the instructional application. You must submit two letters of reference, a resume, and official college transcripts. A complete Pinellas County Schools application includes:


Two letters of reference*
Resume*
Official college transcripts* (also send one to the DOE)
Subject area test results*
General Knowledge test results (not officially required until after hired; although a pro-active plan is to take this in advance)

[dfrecore]

This doesn't sound like an alternative route, since it's only a temporary certificate. It also doesn't say that they will accept her AA - most states require a BA. I didn't check the links, but I would try to find that out. I find it really hard to believe that a school would hire a teacher with an AA. I've not heard that that's an option.

[Suddenlyshestudies]

This doesn't sound like an alternative route, since it's only a temporary certificate. It also doesn't say that they will accept her AA - most states require a BA. I didn't check the links, but I would try to find that out. I find it really hard to believe that a school would hire a teacher with an AA. I've not heard that that's an option.

Oh no, I didn't mean that she would take this route with her AA. We were just trying to figure out if getting her BA/BS from TESU and then doing an alternative route would be quicker than going with WGU. Although we did discover that she can substitute teach with her AA. That seems like a good way to get her "foot in the door" while finishing up her degree.

[dfrecore]

This doesn't sound like an alternative route, since it's only a temporary certificate.  It also doesn't say that they will accept her AA - most states require a BA.  I didn't check the links, but I would try to find that out.  I find it really hard to believe that a school would hire a teacher with an AA.  I've not heard that that's an option.

Oh no, I didn't mean that she would take this route with her AA.  We were just trying to figure out if getting her BA/BS from TESU and then doing an alternative route would be quicker than going with WGU.  Although we did discover that she can substitute teach with her AA.  That seems like a good way to get her "foot in the door" while finishing up her degree.

Ah, got it.

I would guess that getting the BA from TESU and then getting the alternative cert is going to be the same amount of time as getting her degree at WGU.  You have to spend the same amount of time in the classroom student teaching, whichever way you go.  So whether you do your degree quickly and then student teach, or whether you student teach while getting your degree, seems like it would take the same amount of time.

If I was in her shoes, I would go the WGU route.  I think it's a better option if she knows she wants to be a teacher.  Seems way less complicated to just start and finish and not have to degree map the heck out of it beforehand and then jump through the hoops after she gets her degree.

[allvia]

This doesn't sound like an alternative route, since it's only a temporary certificate.  It also doesn't say that they will accept her AA - most states require a BA.  I didn't check the links, but I would try to find that out.  I find it really hard to believe that a school would hire a teacher with an AA.  I've not heard that that's an option.

Oh no, I didn't mean that she would take this route with her AA.  We were just trying to figure out if getting her BA/BS from TESU and then doing an alternative route would be quicker than going with WGU.  Although we did discover that she can substitute teach with her AA.  That seems like a good way to get her "foot in the door" while finishing up her degree.

Ah, got it.

I would guess that getting the BA from TESU and then getting the alternative cert is going to be the same amount of time as getting her degree at WGU.  You have to spend the same amount of time in the classroom student teaching, whichever way you go.  So whether you do your degree quickly and then student teach, or whether you student teach while getting your degree, seems like it would take the same amount of time.

If I was in her shoes, I would go the WGU route.  I think it's a better option if she knows she wants to be a teacher.  Seems way less complicated to just start and finish and not have to degree map the heck out of it beforehand and then jump through the hoops after she gets her degree.

A degree in Education for a teaching position will tend go over better in an interview than the alternative route (especially since she at the age of just starting out in a career - if she was 44 and switching careers after 20yrs of working it could be different), plus the WGU is nationwide  - she'd keep the option to teach throughout the US (even if she plans to stay in FL, always good to have options). Also as I mentioned before it would give her the option to use financial aid. I'd be very surprised if she would not be eligible for a Pell Grant = no pay back.