Secondary Accelerated Certification with Residency

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Saginaw Valley State University’s Accelerated Certification with Residency (ACR) program is for those with bachelor’s degrees or higher who want to obtain teaching certification in the state of Michigan. The residency component allows for student teaching for an entire academic year.

This program is designed to lead to initial certification in one of the following content areas: ELA, Social Studies, Mathematics, Integrated Science, Speech, Physical & Health Education, Visual Arts Education, Spanish and French. To obtain certification, students must complete of the Secondary ACR program (including the residency component) and pass the Michigan Test for Teacher Certification (MTTC) for their content area grade bands (5-9, 7-12, and/or PK-12, K-12) and the Professional Knowledge and Skills for their grade bands (5-9 and/or 7-12).

Admission

The following is required for admission to the Secondary ACR program:

Bachelor’s degree or higher from a regionally accredited institution.
Minimum 3. 0 grade point average (based on 4. 00 scale) for students completing degrees in the past four years.
Passing scores on the Subject Area Michigan Test for Teacher Certification (MTTC).

Additionally, a College of Education advisor will meet with candidates to help determine possible content areas.

Secondary ACR Coursework

The College of Education creates the schedule of ARC courses offered each semester to ensure that accelerated certification candidates can complete the required course work in one year beginning in the summer semester prior to residency or student teaching. Candidates do not create their own schedules. Courses in the fall and winter semesters are taken concurrently with a full year of student teaching or residency in a middle or high school classroom.

Summer Semester

In the summer semester, ACR students take the following courses:

TEMS 301 - Building Classroom Community and Culture Credits: 3
TEMS 302 - Designing Instruction in Secondary Class Credits: 3

Fall Semester

In the fall semester, ACR students take the following courses:

TEMS 303 - Classroom Instruction Across Contents Credits: 3
TEMS 307 - ACR Seminar 1: Learning in Schools Credits: 2
Choose one of the following methods courses based on your content area:
TEMS 311 - Methods of Teaching in Science Credits: 3
TEMS 313 - Methods of Teaching in Special Subjects Credits: 3
TEMS 314 - Methods of Teaching Social Studies Credits: 3
TEMS 315 - Methods of Teaching in Mathematics Credits: 3
TEMS 317 - Methods of Teaching in ELA Credits: 3
Additionally, enroll in 4 credits of field experience
TEMS 422 - Secondary Student Teaching Credits: 3-12

Winter Semester

In the winter semester, ACR students take the following courses:

TEMS 308 - ACR Seminar 2: Connecting with Community Credits: 3
TEMS 310 - Differentiating Instruction & Assessment Credits: 3
TEMS 312 - Disciplinary and Content Area Literacy Credits: 3
Additionally, enroll in 4 credits of field experience
TEMS 422 - Secondary Student Teaching Credits: 3-12