Teaching in Calgary
Apr 15th 2019, 8:41 pm
#1
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 43
Teaching in Calgary
Hi
I would be obliged if you could assist.
Some background- My wife and I currently live in North Vancouver and are moving to Calgary in the near future. My wife was previously a secondary school teacher in the UK (she taught German and Spanish) in both England and Scotland before we moved to Canada in 2012. She has been teaching online whilst our son was small, but now that he is 5 she is thinking about returning to the classroom.
We realize she has to apply to the Alberta Teaching association for a license in the first instance. I have a few additional questions:
1. How long does the application process take?
2. How many additional courses do you need to take to obtain a license? What is the approximate duration?
3. Can you teach in a public school without a license?
4. Can you teach in a private school without a license?
5. What is the current job market for teachers in Calgary area?
6. Do you need to start from the lowest grade/ pay scale? ie. Your UK experience is not taken into consideration?
7. Anything else you can shared based on your own experience?
Thanks for your help.
I would be obliged if you could assist.
Some background- My wife and I currently live in North Vancouver and are moving to Calgary in the near future. My wife was previously a secondary school teacher in the UK (she taught German and Spanish) in both England and Scotland before we moved to Canada in 2012. She has been teaching online whilst our son was small, but now that he is 5 she is thinking about returning to the classroom.
We realize she has to apply to the Alberta Teaching association for a license in the first instance. I have a few additional questions:
1. How long does the application process take?
2. How many additional courses do you need to take to obtain a license? What is the approximate duration?
3. Can you teach in a public school without a license?
4. Can you teach in a private school without a license?
5. What is the current job market for teachers in Calgary area?
6. Do you need to start from the lowest grade/ pay scale? ie. Your UK experience is not taken into consideration?
7. Anything else you can shared based on your own experience?
Thanks for your help.
Apr 16th 2019, 3:41 am
#2
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Feb 2013
Location: BC, Canada
Posts: 3,874
Re: Teaching in Calgary
Hi
I would be obliged if you could assist.
Some background- My wife and I currently live in North Vancouver and are moving to Calgary in the near future. My wife was previously a secondary school teacher in the UK (she taught German and Spanish) in both England and Scotland before we moved to Canada in 2012. She has been teaching online whilst our son was small, but now that he is 5 she is thinking about returning to the classroom.
We realize she has to apply to the Alberta Teaching association for a license in the first instance. I have a few additional questions:
1. How long does the application process take?
2. How many additional courses do you need to take to obtain a license? What is the approximate duration?
3. Can you teach in a public school without a license?
4. Can you teach in a private school without a license?
5. What is the current job market for teachers in Calgary area?
6. Do you need to start from the lowest grade/ pay scale? ie. Your UK experience is not taken into consideration?
7. Anything else you can shared based on your own experience?
Thanks for your help.
I would be obliged if you could assist.
Some background- My wife and I currently live in North Vancouver and are moving to Calgary in the near future. My wife was previously a secondary school teacher in the UK (she taught German and Spanish) in both England and Scotland before we moved to Canada in 2012. She has been teaching online whilst our son was small, but now that he is 5 she is thinking about returning to the classroom.
We realize she has to apply to the Alberta Teaching association for a license in the first instance. I have a few additional questions:
1. How long does the application process take?
2. How many additional courses do you need to take to obtain a license? What is the approximate duration?
3. Can you teach in a public school without a license?
4. Can you teach in a private school without a license?
5. What is the current job market for teachers in Calgary area?
6. Do you need to start from the lowest grade/ pay scale? ie. Your UK experience is not taken into consideration?
7. Anything else you can shared based on your own experience?
Thanks for your help.
A lot will depend on the qualifications that your wife has ............. does she have a university degree in German and Spanish (at least a B.A., as well as a teaching diploma for secondary education? That is the basic qualification for most secondary level teachers in Canada.
I would say that it is not possible to teach in a public school without having got evaluated and registered, and that many private schools also insist on teachers being registered with the College or Association.
Many of your questions will be answered if you go to the Alberta Teachers' Association site, and read it carefully ............
https://www.teachers.ab.ca/TheTeachi...s/default.aspx
for example, the very first paragraph on their site reads ...............
To teach in Alberta, a person must have a valid teaching certificate. Teachers hired by a publicly funded school board must become members of the ATA. Once hired, teachers should apply to the Teacher Qualifications Service to have their years of education assessed for salary purposes.
Last edited by scilly; Apr 16th 2019 at 3:48 am.
Apr 16th 2019, 5:40 am
#3
Banned
Joined: Apr 2009
Location: SW Ontario
Posts: 19,879
Re: Teaching in Calgary
Hi
I would be obliged if you could assist.
Some background- My wife and I currently live in North Vancouver and are moving to Calgary in the near future. My wife was previously a secondary school teacher in the UK (she taught German and Spanish) in both England and Scotland before we moved to Canada in 2012. She has been teaching online whilst our son was small, but now that he is 5 she is thinking about returning to the classroom.
We realize she has to apply to the Alberta Teaching association for a license in the first instance. I have a few additional questions:
I would be obliged if you could assist.
Some background- My wife and I currently live in North Vancouver and are moving to Calgary in the near future. My wife was previously a secondary school teacher in the UK (she taught German and Spanish) in both England and Scotland before we moved to Canada in 2012. She has been teaching online whilst our son was small, but now that he is 5 she is thinking about returning to the classroom.
We realize she has to apply to the Alberta Teaching association for a license in the first instance. I have a few additional questions:
1. How long does the application process take?
That will depend on what qualifications your wife presently has but I would suggest applying as soon as possible as she will need to get a Provisional/Interim Certificate to start with and can't apply for a permanent one until she has held the interim one for 2 years and completed all courses as well as beicoming a Citizen - full details of the process can be found on the Alberta Teachers Association website https://www.teachers.ab.ca/TheTeachi...ification.aspx
2. How many additional courses do you need to take to obtain a license? What is the approximate duration?
That will depend on what qualifications your wife presently has, but at minimum will likely be a Canada History course of some kind
3. Can you teach in a public school without a license?
No - you must be registered in the Province you wish to teach in
4. Can you teach in a private school without a license?
Not normally
5. What is the current job market for teachers in Calgary area?
6. Do you need to start from the lowest grade/ pay scale? ie. Your UK experience is not taken into consideration?
Most likely - you have no Canadian experience and will normally start as a new teacher unless you are very fortunate and have a specialised in demand subject or are assessed by the TQS to have academic qualifications that they will count towards pay scales. Don't forget teachers have Unions and there would be a lot of upset if an outsider were to be given a pay rise without the necessary experience and / or seniority - you can read more how it's assessed on the Alberta website: https://www.teachers.ab.ca/TheTeachi.../AboutTQS.aspx
7. Anything else you can shared based on your own experience?
Much the same as Scilly has said, it may be several years before your wife manages to obtain anything more than temporary 'fill in' on supply work. I know Canadian trained teachers with experience who have ended up having to travel 2 hours each way to get a job for 3 days a week for a few months! Supply and demand, unfortunately.. the supply of teachers exceeds the demand unless you have a specialised in demand subject
. Thanks for your help .
https://britishexpats.com/wiki/Teaching_in_Canada
She could also consider tutoring, perhaps? A quick Google.ca search brings up tutoring opportunities in both German and Spanish in the Calgary area (as well as one job in a main stream Calgary Catholic District School Board their International Spanish Academy program.)
Last edited by Siouxie; Apr 19th 2019 at 4:03 am.
Apr 18th 2019, 11:54 pm
#4
Forum Regular
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 75
Re: Teaching in Calgary
Hi
I went through the teaching qualifications validation process with Alberta Education in the past year. The process took 10 months and costs a couple of hundred CAD.
The end result for me was, I would have to do a BEd in Alberta which is 2 years full time. For info, I have a BAHons from a Russell Group uni, PGCE and over 10 years’ teaching experience. However as I teach 16+ age group I do not have QTS.
Calgary Uni offer a one year full time Bridge to Teaching for school teachers qualified overseas but you still have to go through the Alberta Education process before you can apply. I wasn’t eligible as not QTS but also I am not clear whether English speaking teachers are eligible in any case.
Alberta Education basically won’t give you any info apart from what’s on their website until you’ve paid up, waited months then finally they notify you by letter.
Not all provinces are the same, however.
I went through the teaching qualifications validation process with Alberta Education in the past year. The process took 10 months and costs a couple of hundred CAD.
The end result for me was, I would have to do a BEd in Alberta which is 2 years full time. For info, I have a BAHons from a Russell Group uni, PGCE and over 10 years’ teaching experience. However as I teach 16+ age group I do not have QTS.
Calgary Uni offer a one year full time Bridge to Teaching for school teachers qualified overseas but you still have to go through the Alberta Education process before you can apply. I wasn’t eligible as not QTS but also I am not clear whether English speaking teachers are eligible in any case.
Alberta Education basically won’t give you any info apart from what’s on their website until you’ve paid up, waited months then finally they notify you by letter.
Not all provinces are the same, however.
