Teaching Pathways
Pathways to Certification
RISD supports several pipelines to the teaching profession. Check out the variety of ways that we support the future of public education.
Grow 2 Teach
Offered through the RISD Career Technical Education (CTE) program, the Teaching Internship (TI) program allows students to earn high school elective credit while learning introductory elements of the teaching profession. The Teaching Internship program places students in RISD elementary classrooms with selected RISD teachers to observe and learn.
Para to Teach
RISD partners with Dallas College to offer current paraprofessionals an opportunity to complete their college degree and earn their teaching certification, while maintaining their current position as an instructional paraprofessional.
Classroom Observation
A classroom observer is a college/university student or alternative certification candidate who needs to obtain field-based observation experience in an RISD classroom to fulfill a class or program requirement. The number of observation hours should not exceed 60 hours.
Student/Clinical Teaching
A RISD Student Teacher/Clinical Practitioner is a college/university student who needs to fulfill a one or two semester university requirement for direct, guided, and/or gradual release teaching or practicum experience under the supervision of a RISD cooperating teacher/education professional. The placement duration is one/two semesters or for a designated number of hours.
Paid Apprenticeship/Resident Teacher
A RISD Paid Apprentices or Resident Teacher is a temporary employee who is also enrolled at one of our partner universities, who is participating in a year long paid student teaching experience with an RISD mentor teacher.
Associate Teacher Intern
A RISD Associate Teacher Intern is a degreed, non-certified individual who works in the classroom setting under the guidance and support of a mentor teacher, and is in the process of obtaining their teaching certification.