Getting Started Teaching in a Catholic High School

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DignitasDave

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Hello all… thanks in advance for any (name removed by moderator)ut.

My situation is as follows:

I have a BS in Biology and Nursing. I currently work as an RN. I am blessed to have the opportunity to have the majority of a MA in Theology with a concentration in Bioethics (through the NCBC) paid for. I am thrilled at the opportunity to study something that I have always been very passionate about. While I am not certain where, if anywhere new, this degree will lead me I am stepping out in faith to study what I love.

If it were all up to me at this point in time when I am done with my degree I would like to teach at a Catholic high school. While I know a course in Bioethics or the Theology of Creation is not quite at the top of the list for the USCCBs high school curriculum my ultimate goal would be to weave those topics into teaching from the vantage of a Biology or Theology teacher.

And finally to my question, for those who feel well versed enough in the sphere of education… When I am finished with my Master’s will I be in a position to begin applying successfully for teaching positions in Catholic high schools? Other comments/questions are welcome to a reasonable degree. Thanks again for your time.

Pax Christi
 
You will most likely be required to have a valid teaching licesne. You will have to check the procedure for obtaining one in your state. I think most Catholic schools require this. I have heard of some Catholic schools hiring someone contingently (particularly in the math and science department) and giving them a year to get certified. Alot of universities will arrange with you to count this first year of teaching as your student teaching experience, thus making you eligible for a license.
 
DignitasDave said:
Other comments/questions are welcome to a reasonable degree. Thanks again for your time.

Pax Christi
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If you end up as a theology teacher, make sure to do as much work as possible to instill knowledge in your pupils of apologetics regarding Protestantism and New Atheism/Scientism. Excellent resources on these topics are as follows: Dave Armstrong’s blog and books, The Catholic Legate, Called to Communion, William Lane Craig’s Reasonable Faith, Fr. Robert Baron’s videos, and Glenn Miller’s Christian Thinktank.

(If I had received in-depth education in these areas, I would have been spared a lot of trouble.)
 
Which country are you in? That makes a difference. And then depending on the country, which state or province you are in will affect the procedure.

Here in Canada you need a teaching degree to teach. Even if you have a theology degree and want to teach high school religion you still need a B.Ed.
 
Hi there, fellow Bio major! 👍

You will likely need a teaching license, although you can be hired provisionally while you’re working toward your requirements. Some Catholic High Schools (at least in my diocese) do have Bioethics courses in the curriculum. Depending on what your schedule is like for your Masters (whether you’re full-time or half-time), you could start applying now.

When I started teaching, I was hired directly into a Catholic school and worked toward my Masters in Education during my first year. My Masters program also granted the teaching license about halfway through, but I was hired provisionally by the school.

You could also start volunteering at a Catholic high school, maybe starting a Bioethics club for the students. You’d definitely have to submit all the necessary paperwork, fingerprinting, etc. first, though.
 
triumphguy said:
Which country are you in? That makes a difference. And then depending on the country, which state or province you are in will affect the procedure.

Here in Canada you need a teaching degree to teach. Even if you have a theology degree and want to teach high school religion you still need a B.Ed.
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I am in the US, thanks for the info though!
 
pamnbam said:
Hi there, fellow Bio major! 👍

You will likely need a teaching license, although you can be hired provisionally while you’re working toward your requirements. Some Catholic High Schools (at least in my diocese) do have Bioethics courses in the curriculum. Depending on what your schedule is like for your Masters (whether you’re full-time or half-time), you could start applying now.

When I started teaching, I was hired directly into a Catholic school and worked toward my Masters in Education during my first year. My Masters program also granted the teaching license about halfway through, but I was hired provisionally by the school.

You could also start volunteering at a Catholic high school, maybe starting a Bioethics club for the students. You’d definitely have to submit all the necessary paperwork, fingerprinting, etc. first, though.
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I will need to/ want to stay with my current job while I get the master’s. The Bioethics club or something along those lines sounds like a fantastic idea though. Maybe I could get something like that off the ground in the next year or two. Thanks.
 
As a science teacher in a Catholic school, I know it is possible for you to be hired to teach without a teaching certificate. My experience is that biology teachers are rather common and it would be rare that a school would hire an non certified candidate. If you were a chemistry teacher, you’d have a better chance. Physics - the basic requirement is to be breathing:).

Good luck!

Kris
 
kwitz said:
As a science teacher in a Catholic school, I know it is possible for you to be hired to teach without a teaching certificate. My experience is that biology teachers are rather common and it would be rare that a school would hire an non certified candidate. If you were a chemistry teacher, you’d have a better chance. Physics - the basic requirement is to be breathing:).

Good luck!

Kris
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Very interesting. I too have considered a career change into teaching, and have had some of the same questions as the original poster above. I do have an M.S. degree in an engineering field, meaning that I have had quite a few college-level math and physics classes. If I wanted to teach physics (or maybe math?) at a Catholic high school, are you saying that a teaching certificate or education degree would likely not be required? Or is it just that it would not be required at first, but I would be expected to work towards it over the first year or two?
 
It would definitely make your application stand out if you have the certificate but it would not preclude you from getting a job at my school. Physics teachers are probably the hardest position to fill on a staff. My last principal would not fire our physics teacher because while he wasn’t great (or even particularly good), he was better than the three teachers she went through in one year at her previous school. If you’re serious, start looking in your diocese’s newspaper want ads and the archdiocese school web site. That’s often where they post the “immediate opening” positions that need to be filled during the school year and they would be much more lenient on certification requirements.

And while I have some issues with teacher training programs, I would definitely want to have minimally had a methods of teaching science type course.

Good luck! I’ve been teaching for 25 years in the same Catholic high school (that I graduated from!) and love my jobs (most days:)).

Kris
 
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