Question:
    I am a certified substitute teacher with a BA in Journalism/Public Relations and a Masters in Business. i have been subbing in Hanover Township (Morris County) for 4 years and am interested in pursuing ESL certification, coupled with the Alternate Route method. The NJ Board of Ed tells me this is not feasible at this time, but I have heard one college advisor say that this route does indeed exist, just not "formally". Can you put me in contact with anyone who has gone Alternate Route/ESL, or help me to find if, indeed, there is a way to accomplish this? And if so, how do I go about it? B

Reply 1:
    Until recently it was possible to get an Emergency Certificate in ESL, work in a school district, and at the same time attend a college and complete their program. Emergencies no longer exist, so we're all getting used to the new system.
    There is indeed an Alternate Route for ESL certification. It's a little different from Alternate Route in most other subject areas because it requires that the candidate complete a college program for the preparation of ESL teachers in such areas as Linguistics and Language Learning, as well as other subjects specified by the Administrative Code for New Jersey. As in other Alternate Route programs, the candidate does the pedagogy component provided by the school district where the candidate is employed.
    A possible first step is to Obtain a CE (Certificate of Eligibility) from the State. This requires a test of spoken and written English. (Go to http://Languagetesting.com to learn about the language test.) Then the candidate must obtain an offer of employment from a school district as an Alternate Route ESL teacher. At the same time, the candidate should apply to one of the ten colleges in NJ that offer ESL Cert programs. (College of NJ, Georgian Court, Kean, Montclair, New Jersey City State U, Rider, Rowan, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Wm Paterson.) The candidate must complete whatever program the specific college program recommends.
    It may be easier to begin the college enrolment process first, and let the college help with arrangements for the State-mandated language test required for the CE. It is not possible to obtain ESL Alternate Route cert in NJ without completing one of the ten State-Approved college programs of coursework. NB

Question 2:
    Are the ESL certification programs at the college level a one-year program, or does each college differ a little?

Reply 3:
    The NJ Administrative Code specifies that any college program that the State recognizes for the preparation of ESL teachers must require a minimum of 15 credits, and may require more. Many people read that part of the code (6A9-11.5) and don't realize that the numbers of credits mentioned there describe what a program must do, and does not apply to individuals. (So - if an individual candidate enrolls in a college that requires 21 credits in its program, the candidate cannot take 15 credits and claim that that is all the State requires. What the State really requires is that an individual complete whatever program the college requires.) Of course, the 15 credit minimum does not include a pedagogy component.
    So yes, the short answer is that the programs do differ from school to school. One year is really pushing it if at the same time the candidate has to do the required pedagogy component - not at the college - and is starting a new job in a school district at the same time. The Code gives a candidate four years to complete the college-based part of the program.
    The Alternate Route may be more complicated and just as time-consuming as the traditional route in the case of ESL, but it's the only way to work as an ESL teacher before completing the ESL certification.
    ESL really is more complicated than other Alt Rte programs. I hope this makes some sense. Nancy Brilliant
    Additional questions may be directed to MaryEmilie Steinacker at msteinacker@njtesol-njbe.org.

10/27/06