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In 2010 the State of New Hampshire incorporated the Common Core into its yearly assessments for student learning. As of 2015, the results of these past several years of assessments are now being woven into the curriculum of teaching English Language Arts. One of the main goals of Common core is to create a building block of critical thinking, reading and writing so that as a student moves through New Hampshire schools, the information they have acquired will allow them to go on to the next level.
As an English Language Arts teacher in New Hampshire, you will be responsible for seeing to it that you teach these vital skills at the grade level you choose. Your teaching skills will help students become better equipped to leave school ready to go into a career or onto college. As you embark on this new career path, below are basic guidelines to take to certification as an English Language Arts teacher in New Hampshire.
 | Complete Your Teacher Education |
 | Pass Teaching Exams |
 | Apply for a Teaching Certification in New Hampshire |
 | Renew Your Certification |
Step 1. Complete Your Teacher Education
To begin your new teaching career, you start with a degree that will prepare you to enter the field. One of the first considerations is the age of students you intend to teach. For elementary school grades, your education will be broad in scope. You will take courses that will prepare you to teach all subjects including English. This path will also prepare you for the unique setting of the elementary classroom.
As an elementary school teacher, you will be responsible for teaching more than English. Your students will more than likely be with you for most of the day. Your program will teach you about how younger children develop and learn. It will also prepare you to handle day-to-day situations such as classroom management, parent/teacher conferences, and grade-appropriate lesson planning.
If you desire to teach middle school through high school, your teaching day will be different than the elementary school teacher. You will have many more students and teach only in your content area. You will teach a variety of courses such as writing, reading, literature, and critical thinking. Your students will be with you for typically one period (or longer if your school is on a block schedule).
To get you ready to teach, you will need to complete a bachelor degree program that is accredited by the State of New Hampshire. Your program will have a teacher-training component built into it. Some students may wish to further their training by earning a master’s degree. This would be the optimum time to consider this while you are still a full-time student.
Options to Teacher Training
New Hampshire’s Department of Education recognizes that not all those who wish to become teachers will do so right out of school. For those candidates that already posses a degree, there are several options for you to start your career in teaching. These options will allow you to begin teaching as soon as you have filled out the application and satisfied the requirements of the optional path you chose.
Step 2. Pass Teaching Exams
As a new teacher, one of the requirements for certification is satisfying a basic skills and content exam requisite. This can be accomplished by the following:
- Take and pass the Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators exams. This series of tests will cover your knowledge in reading, writing and mathematics. *
- Take and pass the Praxis II content exam. This will test you in either English Language Arts or specific grade level teaching skills.
*You may be exempt from the Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators exam if your SAT’s (after 2005), GRE’s, or ACT scores were in the fifty percentile or higher. You will need to contact the Bureau of Credentialing for a waiver form.
The test taking process starts buy completing an online account. Once you have completed your account, you will be able to sign up to take the tests you need. The Praxis exams also offer online study guides in PDF files that you can download for each test.
Step 3. Apply for a Teaching Certification in New Hampshire
When you are ready to apply for your teaching certificate in New Hampshire, there are a few basic things you will need to accomplish:
- Have a background check completed and obtain a fingerprint card.
- Send a request to your college(s) where you took all your preparatory courses to send an official sealed copy of your transcripts.
- Obtain a copy of your passing scores on the Praxis exams and provide your waiver if you were exempt from the core tests.
- Submit any pertinent employment records.
- Complete the application for certification.
- Pay all appropriate fees for applying including any associated with your background check.
When you complete all these steps, you will be on your way to receiving your first teaching certificate in Nebraska.
Step 4. Renew Your Certification
Once you have been teaching for several years, you will need to renew your teaching license. The renewal application is short and only asks for basic information as well as a current statement of any arrests. There is also a $130 fee required in order to renew your teaching certificate.
You may also want to take this time to consider upgrading your education if you only hold a bachelor’s degree. By acquiring a master’s degree, you will move up on the salary scale. For instance, in the Bedford school district, you would earn a minimum of $37,500 in your first year teacher with a bachelor’s degree. If you upgrade to a master’s, you would earn just over $41,000. They also allow for additional postgraduate work up to a master’s plus thirty units, which would give you an additional $2,700.
New Hampshire English Teacher Salaries
New Hampshire has over 280 school districts that offer classes K-12 to students around the state. The goal of the New Hampshire Department of Education is to raise the bar on each child’s performance and get student’s ready for their future. To do this, they often entice well-prepared teachers by offering a greater salary incentive to those willing to invest in a higher education.
As an example, a new English teacher that starts her career out of college with master’s degree will typically fare better than one who earned an undergraduate degree. This is certainly true in the Lyme School District. The new teacher with an MA in English is going to start at $47,779. Her counterparts with undergraduate degrees will start at $44,036. If the salaries never changed over a thirty-year career, the difference would be $112,290.
The salaries will typical increase on both sides —and this could change—but the spread becomes much more significant when it is multiplied by a lifelong career investment. Other schools typically will pay for higher education in New Hampshire as well although not all are created equal. Here are a few examples:
Londonderry
- BA – 36,866
- MA -37,965
Newington
- BA – $41,635
- MA – $42,592
Raymond
- BA – $32,127
- MA -$33,793
South Hampton
- BA – $40,194
- MA – $44,779
Other possible sources of additional income for teachers are extra duty assignments. This may come in the way of an additional class added on to a regular schedule. In this case you will typically earn a per diem rate for the class you teach. Other possible sources are clubs, sports, and other after-school activities.
To consider other areas around New Hampshire and view teacher salary information see the table below: