Certification Requirements
Students are required to fulfill the following requirements for NYS Certification.
*For complete information on the requirements for NYS certification as a school library media specialist, consult the New York State Education Department Office of Teaching Initiatives at the following URL: http://www.highered.nysed.gov/tcert/certificate/
Completion of Masters of Science, Library and Information Science
The completion of your MSLIS (or MLS) is required for NYS certification.
- Language Arts and Sciences Test (LAST)
- Assessment of Teaching SkillsWritten (ATS-W)
- Content Specialty Test (CST) for Library Media Specialists
There are several test preparation guides for the LAST and ATS-W tests available on Amazon.com and at Barnes & Noble.
In addition, New York State offers test preparation guides, which include sample questions, for all three tests. They are available in .PDF format:
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Mandatory New York State Workshops
Students must complete SIX New York State mandatory workshops:
- Child Abuse Recognition & Reporting
- School Violence Prevention and Intervention
- Fire & Arson Prevention
- Highway Safety & Traffic Regulations & School Safety Patrols
- Child Abduction Prevention
- Prevention of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Drug Abuse
The School of Education at Syracuse University offers FREE, self-paced online workshops through WebCT followed by a FREE exam that must be taken at Huntington Hall on the US campus. For information about access to the workshops and exam dates, please contact Fran Cooney:
fcooney@syr.edu 315-443-9319. If workshops are taken through the School of Education, notice will be automatically made on the students transcript.
These workshops are also given at other locations throughout New York State. Contact your local BOCES for more information.
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Fieldwork
Students are required to complete 100 hours of on-site supervised fieldwork experience. For more information on obtaining 100 hours of fieldwork through the School Media program, please see the
School Media Curriculum page.
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Fingerprinting
Students can be fingerprinted through various sources including BOCES or local fire or police departments.
The staff at the School of Education, Teaching and Leadership Program at Syracuse University are trained to take fingerprints. For a $99.00 fee, payable to the New York State Education Department, students complete a Fingerprint Packet with a consent form, and two fingerprint cards. The School of Education will forward your fingerprints to the State. For more information on fingerprinting, please contact the School of Education, Teaching and Leadership Program at 315-443-1468.
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Applying for Professional Certification in New York State
The New York State Education Department Office of Teaching Initiatives (OTI) has announced that students completing teacher preparation programs (including School Media) leading to certification can now access the TEACH Online Services system.
The online feature includes: 1) Online teacher certification application; 2) Online fingerprint clearance application; 3) Payment arrangements; 4) The ability to check online for the status of a teacher certificate application; 5) The ability to check online for the status of a fingerprint clearance application; 6) The ability to view all correspondence sent by OTI, including an evaluation history of certification applications filed online.
In order to apply online, you must create a TEACH login and password at the New York State Directory Services. Instructions are provided as you go through the self-registration process. To self-register and login to TEACH go to http://ohe33.nysed.gov/tcert/teach/ and follow the instructions provided at Self-Registration.
While the application process itself is easy (it takes approximately 30 minutes of your time), there is specific information that you, as graduates of the Syracuse University, School of Information Studies Master of Science in Library and Information Science: School Media (MS/LIS: School Media) degree program, must know in order to assure that your application and Syracuse Universitys institutional recommendation match, so that TEACH issues the appropriate certificate.
Where you are given a variety of choices to select from a pull down menu, use the selections listed below as you proceed through the steps on the application:
Institution: Syracuse University
Award Title: Master of Science
Program: 27274 Library and Information Science: School Media
Major: Other
Date Degree Received: Leave Blank
Attended From: Your matriculation date
Attended To: The first day of the month you graduate/graduated (ex. 5/1/06)
Number of Credits Earned: Leave Blank
Select your Area of Interest: Classroom Teacher
Select your Subject Area: Library Science
Select the Grade Level: Pre K-12 All Grades (defaults from Classroom Teacher/Library Science)
Select the Title: Library Media Specialist
Select the Type of Certificate: *Initial
Select Pathway: Approved Teacher Preparation Program
*Unless you have three years of professional library working experience and are applying for Permanent Certification. You must provide verification of this employment.
TEACH Online Services will always be available to you so that you may enter your application online and check its status at your convenience. TEACH Technical support will be available to you by telephone Monday - Friday from 8:00 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. at (518) 486-6041 or via email at teachhelp@mail.nysed.gov. Please note, the above venues are only able to supply technical assistance as you access TEACH Online Services. If you have questions concerning your certification, you should contact Linda Defrees at ladefree@syr.edu or 315-443-4759 or you may contact the Office of Teaching Initiatives at tcert@mail.nysed.gov
When you are ready to apply online, please contact Jose Tavarez, jltavare@syr.edu (315-443-5601) to receive a postcard required by the School of Education. Please fill out the postcard and return it to Jose at 114L Hinds Hall along with verification of the SIX required workshops (if you have not taken them at Syracuse University). Once your degree is certified by IST, the postcard and a letter verifying your degree certification will be sent to the School of Education. The School of Education will verify the award date and submit the college recommendation online. The degree certification process should take approximately four weeks. Please note: You can apply for NYS certification before the college recommendation is submitted, however the college recommendation will not be submitted online until an award date is posted on your transcript. This can take several weeks after graduation.
Please remember that the Syracuse University School of Information Studies and School of Education must institutionally recommend your application for NYS certification. Do not apply through any other agency (BOCES).
New York State Certification Resources
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Information for non-NYS Residents
School media certification requirements for each state differ and are always changing. Although some graduates are planning to seek a school library media specialist position within New York State, others may be moving and will need to know the requirements in other states. You should contact your states Department of Education as a source for such information.
The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) provides an
excellent web site for information on School Library Media degree programs, roles and responsibilities of the profession, certification requirements in various states, and other useful information.
Contact Information
For more questions regarding the Certification process, please contact:
Linda Defrees
ladefree@syr.edu
315-443-4759
You may also contact the Office of Teaching Initiatives at tcert@mail.nysed.gov
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