My wife has been a elementary school teacher for about 10 years now. I’ve listened to her complain about all of the fees she has to pay just to become a teacher and maintain her certification. Now that I am embarking on the same journey I get to be the one to shell out the dough. Today I had to schedule my fingerprinting/background check with the county office. The fee to do so was $80! Heck, I’m not even a new employee, but rather an intern, and I am still required to pay this. I’m unemployed, folks. That $80 hurt.
I also had to pay about $130 for my state required general knowledge test (I passed this one quite a while ago). Then there is another $200 for the state required subject area exam (Another one I passed a while ago). And yet another $150 for the state required professional education exam, which I am taking at the end of this month. Finally, there is the $85 Praxis biology test that my college requires, which I am taking this Saturday. And all of this has to be done before I can even start applying for teaching jobs. That’s about $645 I’ve had to fork over so far. What the heck else will I have to pay for? Sheesh!
I paid $80 for fingerprinting in Brevard county when I became a substitute. Then I paid $80 for fingerprinting to substitute in St. Johns County. I did my Pre-internship in Duval county ($80) and my internship in St. Johns county ($40). When I got hired, I paid a 3rd time in St. Johns county. All in a span of 4 years.
However, vendors (Coca-cola etc.) only pay once per employee and it covers multiple districts…
It was worth it, though!