What is an Endorsement
Endorsement Information
An endorsement is the subject area in which a certified teacher is authorized to teach, along with designated grade levels for that area. There are 36 endorsements in Washington, not including a large number of career and technical education endorsements. Evergreen offers 25 of those endorsements. Each endorsement has “endorsement competencies,” which are the standards that list what teachers should know and be able to do for various teaching assignments. They are based on national content standards and related to Washington’s Essential Academic Learning Requirements (EALRs) for students. For a complete list of all endorsements in the state and to examine the knowledge and skill competencies for each endorsement, see: http://www.k12. wa.us/certification/profed/competency.aspx
Prospective teachers must demonstrate that they meet the knowledge and skill competencies for each endorsement they earn through passing the state-required subject knowledge assessment (WEST-E), through prior content area coursework, and through projects and field experience within their certification program.
Endorsement levels:
- All-level endorsements (P-12); good for preschool (birth) to grade 12
- Secondary endorsements (5-12); good for single subjects in grades 5-12. Generally one is a content specialist in a middle or high school
- Middle level endorsements (4-9); good for listed subjects generally taught in middle schools and junior high schools
- Elementary endorsement: (K-8); good for all subjects Kindergarten to grade 8
- Early childhood endorsements (P-3); good from birth to grade 3
Endorsements Offered at Evergreen:
- Bilingual Education (P-12)
- Biology (5-12)
- Chemistry (5-12)
- Dance¹ (P-12)
- Earth and Space Science (5-12)
- Elementary Education (K-8)
- English Language Arts (5-12)
- English Language Learners¹ (P-12)
- French² (P-12)
- German² (P-12)
- History (5-12)
- Japanese² (P-12)
- Mathematics (5-12)
- Middle Level Humanities (4-9 English and Social Studies)
- Middle Level Math (4-9)
- Middle Level Science (4-9)
- Physics (5-12)
- Reading1 (P-12)
- Science (5-12)
- Social Studies (5-12)
- Spanish² (P-12)
- Special Education¹ (P-12)
- Social Studies (5-12)
- Theatre Arts¹ (P-12)
- Visual Arts² (P-12)
1. In addition, you must also choose another endorsement area. 2 You are strongly encouraged to choose an additional endorsement area.
Applicants must select one or more endorsement areas upon entrance to the MIT program. Applicants should consider the age levels of the students they wish to teach and the subject areas they would enjoy teaching. In addition, it is essential to have sufficient content mastery to support the learning of children and youth. See p.19 for details on expected coursework for each endorsement area.
If you are a certified teacher who would like to add an endorsement through Evergreen, please contact Maggie Foran and fill out and send in an application/info sheet.