Eligibility for the Oakland Teaching Fellows

To apply, candidates must meet the following eligibility requirements. No previous coursework in education or teaching experience is required.

• You must possess a Bachelor's degree (conferred by June 30, 2009).
• Your undergraduate GPA must be 2.75 or higher.
• You must be fully eligible to work in the United States.
• You must meet requirements for your subject area.* 
• You cannot be a credentialed teacher.

Acceptance into Oakland Teaching Fellows is contingent upon passage of required teaching tests.  You may be admitted without test passage but must submit passing scores by the start of the Training Institute in mid-June.  If you have not already begun planning to meet these requirements, please click here to get started. We strongly recommend registering for and studying for the required tests as soon as possible.


Eligibility Requirements

• You must possess a Bachelor's degree.
• Candidates who either hold a bachelor's degree or who are currently completing their bachelor's degree from an accredited university and expect to have the degree awarded no later than June 30, 2009 are eligible to apply. Please note that a bachelor's degree is a requirement for state certification.
• Graduates of foreign universities must have their transcripts evaluated by an approved agency. When requesting an evaluation, be sure that the agency specifically states that you have received the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor's degree in your subject area AND provides a full listing of your coursework. Foreign transcripts must be evaluated by a state-approved agency as outlined by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.  Candidates with foreign transcripts will not be considered for candidacy until properly evaluated copies are submitted to the Oakland Teaching Fellows office. Candidates should submit these copies within one week of application submission.

Evaluated copies of foreign transcripts can be sent  to:

ATTN: Oakland Teaching Fellows

1025 Second Ave, #217Oakland, CA 94606 For a list of approved foreign transcript evaluation agencies, please click here.

• Your undergraduate GPA must be 2.75 or higher.
  Individuals must possess an average undergraduate GPA of 2.75 or higher OTF verifies each candidate's undergraduate GPA upon receipt of transcripts at the Interview Event.
• You must be fully eligible to work in the United States.
  Applicants must ensure proof of legal work status (i.e., have U.S. citizenship, or permanent residency with a valid green card) in order to become employees of the Oakland Unified School District. Oakland Teaching Fellows does not provide sponsorship for employment through this program.You must meet requirements for your subject area.
  Candidates must meet testing requirements according to state, district, and credential program guidelines for the subject that they wish to teach before the start of the Training Institute. Please visit Subject Eligibility below for specific details.
• You cannot be a credentialed teacher
• Credentialed teachers - excluding substitutes - are not eligible for the Fellows program. Substitute teaching experience does not affect a candidate's eligibility.
  
  As an alternative, credentialed teachers are encouraged to apply to Oakland City Teacher Corps, a streamlined route for experienced and credentialed teachers to begin teaching in OUSD.  For more information on Oakland City Teacher Corps, click here.

Subject Eligibility

The Oakland Teaching Fellows focuses particularly on bringing outstanding, committed teachers to the areas of greatest need in the District.  We are currently accepting applications for math, science, Spanish, and bilingual education (Spanish) positions.  To teach in these subject areas you must successfully pass the corresponding CSET or subject -specific test.  We highly recommend that interested candidates visit the CSET testing website to see sample test questions to determine their eligibility to teach in those subject areas:

Math - math CSET subtest 110 and 111: Very rigorous

Biology - general science CSET subtests 118, 119, and 120: Very rigorous

Chemistry - general science CSET subtests 118, 119, and 121: Very rigorous

Spanish - Spanish CSET subtests 145, 146, and 147: Very rigorous

Bilingual Education - multiple subject CSET subtests 101, 102, and 103: rigorous

Fellows are responsible for registering for, studying for, and passing the California Basic Education Skills Test (CBEST) and appropriate sections of the California Subject Examination for Teachers (CSET) before the start of the Training Institute or else they cannot participate in OTF. 

For more information on testing requirements, click here. When planning, candidates should note that registration deadlines for these required tests are not flexible. We strongly encourage candidates to register for and begin studying for these tests as soon as possible.

Undergraduate Coursework Requirements

There are no specific undergraduate coursework requirements to teach in the State of California.  Candidates must pass an appropriate content exam(s) (CSET) which will qualify them to teach in the subject area(s) that they are interested.  Although credential programs can waive the CSET requirement given sufficient undergraduate coursework, waiver requirements are highly specific and the granting of waivers is rare.

CBEST Requirements

All teachers, regardless of academic background or professional experience, must pass the CBEST or the Multiple Subject CSET plus the Writing Skills examination to teach in the State of California.  Candidates must secure passage of the CBEST or the Multiple Subject CSET plus the Writing Skills examination before the start of the Training Institute in mid-June.  Please note that the Writing Skills examination is only offered to those candidates taking the Multiple Subjects CSET Exam and must be registered for separately (In order for the CSET Writing Skills test to be accepted in lieu of the CBEST ALL subtests of the Multiple Subject  CSET must be passed in addition to the Writing Skills test). For more information, click here.


CSET Requirements

Teachers must demonstrate content knowledge in their subject area by taking and passing an appropriate CSET content exam before the start of Training Institute in mid-June. As even those individuals with extensive coursework or professional experience seldom qualify for waivers, we recommend that all candidates register and begin studying for the CSET as soon as possible.  For more information about the CSET and how to register, click here.

If you meet the eligibility requirements, please click here to apply today.