PreK-3 Educator Preparation Program

Brookdale’s Alternate Route to Teaching – Community College (ART – CC) program provides individuals with a non-credit option to attain a Preschool through Grade 3 Standard Instructional Certificate.

This program is designed for aspiring educators who already have a bachelor’s degree or higher and are looking to earn a Standard Teaching Certificate. Brookdale’s P-3 ART – CC program is a 500-hour Educator Preparation Program that is regulated and approved by the New Jersey Department of Education.

Our educator preparation program is specifically tailored for the alternate route candidate who is completing coursework while concurrently serving as the contracted teacher-of-record within their school or district. The program is delivered remotely with live instruction in Zoom meetings where classes meet on specific days and times.

Do you aspire to become a teacher but do not have a degree in education?

Looking for a fast-track to a new, rewarding career as an educator?

The Alternate Route to Teaching is a non-traditional teacher preparation program designed for those individuals who have earned a bachelor’s degree and wish to obtain the necessary training to become a NJ certified teacher in their degree subject area. Teacher candidates may work full time as educators while completing program requirements.

P-3 Alternate Route Teachers tend to be:

• K-6 Standard certified teachers who need to obtain the P-3 Certifications so they may teach in a preschool setting.
• Preschool teachers who need to obtain the official New Jersey Standard Certificate for Early Education.
• Substitute teachers or paraprofessionals who wish to teach full-time as the teacher of record in a preschool setting.
• Recent college graduates who did not earn a degree in education.
• Individuals seeking a new career after a period outside the workforce.
• Individuals seeking a rewarding career positively impacting students in a formal education environment.

Who Should Apply?

• Individuals with a bachelor’s degree who have obtained a Certification of Eligibility (CE) in P-3 or those with a Limited P-3 CE.
• Candidates currently employed in a school or licensed childcare center as a teacher.
• Those looking for an affordable and flexible pathway to earning their Standard P-3 Certification.

Your First Step

Enroll and take our P-3 Introduction to Teaching Pre-Service course (50-Hours)

About: The fifty-hour course is entirely online and includes a combination of Zoom classes, asynchronous course assignments, 8 hours of classroom observations, analysis, and 16 hours of clinical experience.

Course objective: The program’s main goal is to give the prospective P-3 teacher an overview of the teaching profession, classroom management and planning designed to begin to give you the knowledge you need to assess and teach children in preschool through third grade.

Cost: $325. Does not include textbook

Course Requirements: Applications must possess a bachelor’s degree and meet state requirements.

GPA (Grade Point Average) Requirements:

• Applicants who graduated prior to September 1, 2016: 2.75 or higher
• Applicants who graduated after September 1, 2016: 3.0 or higher
• Brookdale ART – CC accepts teacher candidates that have earned the Limited Certificate of Eligibility
• See Department of Education website for possible exceptions, like the Limited CE Pilot Program

Next Steps

Complete the remaining 450 hours of course offerings towards P-3 Standard Teacher Certification. These ten (10) courses are also entirely online with a combination of Live Zoom Classes and asynchronous course assignments. Applicants must prove employment in the P-3 CE or Limited CE NJDOE endorsement code,1013 plus enrollment in the NJDOE’s Provisional Teacher Program (PTP) by the second course, XCART-012.

*Candidates must apply for their Certificate of Eligibility through the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) which requires a bachelor’s degree. NJDOE licensing requirements can be found by clicking here.

Remaining ten (10) teacher preparation courses (450 hours) required by the NJDOE for Standard Certification

Cost: $6,300 (Averages $630 per course. Does not include textbooks.)

Course Requirements: Successful completion of the 50-hour P-3 Intro to Teaching course and a Certificate of Eligibility (CE) or Limited CE in preschool through grade 3, employment in a public, private, or parochial school that is registered with the NJDOE and will mentor and evaluate novice teachers enrolled in the PTP.