Certification Offered
Charter Oak State College, in cooperation with Eastern Connecticut State University, Mitchell College, Fairfield University, Southern Connecticut State University, St. Joseph College, University of Connecticut, and University of Hartford, will be offering an alternate route to the Connecticut Birth through Five teaching certificate (112 endorsement). This teaching certificate qualifies professionals to work in a variety of settings such as public preschools, Birth to Three Early Intervention services, and public kindergartens.

Deadline for Application is October 15, 2010
Download our ECE ARC Application Packet (PDF)

Minimum Qualifications
To be considered for the program, applicants must meet the following minimum requirements:

• Have completed a bachelor's degree with 15 credits in the areas of typical and atypical development, psychology of learning and family studies. Candidates who completed a bachelor’s degree without a declared major must have completed 18 hours of related coursework.
• Have passed the Praxis I or have SAT scores of at least 1100 and received a waiver from the State Department of Education.
  • Sign up to take the test with ETS
  • Request a waiver from SDE (PDF)
• Have attained a 3.0 cumulative GPA. Students with GPAs between 2.7 and 3.0 may petition in writing for consideration of a waiver based on a history of exceptional professional experience.
• Have at least three years of verified full-time experience as an early childhood educator (with children ages birth through five) or as a home visitor providing educational services to families with children between the ages of birth to five.
• Two professional references.

Additional Considerations
All qualified students will be interviewed for the program. Acceptance decisions will take into consideration candidates’ knowledgebase in early childhood, strength of references, depth and breadth of work experiences, and capacity for academic inquiry as indicated by academic history and written and oral expression skills.

Program Overview
This program will consist of intensive and accelerated instruction by expert faculty. Accepted students must complete a self-study assessment prior to the beginning of program instruction and meet with the ECE ARC coordinator to discuss individual learning goals and needs. All students will receive orientation in the use of on-line learning technology and Charter Oak State College resources. Students will complete on-line coursework as well as meet for weekend classes on Friday nights and all day Saturdays twice a month (location to be determined). Additionally, students must be able to complete multiple field based projects throughout the duration of the program as well as complete a four week unpaid full-time internship in May or June. Field sites for the internship will be selected for the students by the ECE ARC coordinator. Students must successfully complete all portions of the program as well as a final portfolio assessment in order to be recommended for teacher certification. Students who complete the ECE ARC program must obtain employment for 90 days with a temporary teaching certificate prior to receiving their initial teaching certification from the State Department of Education.

For More Information
Contact: Amy Watson, ECE ARC Coordinator, Charter Oak State College, (860) 832-3916,