MP certification

Northern Mariana Islands teacher certification

Northern Mariana Islands reports 8 teaching credentials and 0 alternative routes to Title II, and licensed 200 new teachers in the latest year.

Credential rules change. Confirm current requirements with CNMI State Board of Education.

Teaching credentials in Northern Mariana Islands

Each row is a credential Northern Mariana Islands reported to Title II. Initial means a first credential for a new teacher. Years is the length of validity.

Northern Mariana Islands credentials
Credential	Initial	Years	Renewable	Grade levels
Basic I	Yes	2	Yes	K-8, 6-8, 9-12
Basic II	No	3	Yes	K-8, 6-8, 9-12
Instructor I	Yes	2	Yes	K-8, 6-8, 9-12
Instructor II	No	4	Yes	EC-8, 6-8, 9-12
Instructor III	No	6	Yes	EC-8, 6-8, 9-12
Professional	No	10	Yes	K-8, 6-8, 9-12
Specialized	No	2	Yes	6-8, 9-12
Standard	No	5	Yes	K-8, 6-8, 9-12

Requirements

Yes means the state reports the item as required for that credential. Tests shows only whether tests are required; Title II does not name the tests.

Credential	Bachelor's	Master's	Education degree	Prep program	Tests	Performance assessment	Clinical	Coursework	Credit hours	Min. GPA	Transcripts	Employment	Mentoring	Recency	Background check	Fingerprint	Police check
Basic I	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Basic II	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes
Instructor I	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Instructor II	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Yes
Instructor III	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Yes
Professional	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes
Specialized	No	No	No	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No	Yes
Standard	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	Yes

Verify a teaching license in Northern Mariana Islands

Teaching licenses in Northern Mariana Islands are verified on the lookup service run by CNMI State Board of Education. Search there by the teacher's name or certificate number to see current status.

PT3 does not verify licenses and holds no records of individual teachers.

Renewal

Renew times is how many times the credential can be renewed; renewal years is the length of each renewal.

Renewal
Credential	Renewable	Renew times	Renewal years	Details
Basic I	Yes	99	2	Signed and completed certification application form; police clearance; payment receipt of $35 (processing fee per certification); recommendation letter from Supervisor/Principal; proof of completion of 120 hours of seminars, workshops, or in-service training as sanctioned by PSS/BOE and or equivalent university or college courses.
Basic II	Yes	99	3	Signed and completed certification application form; police clearance; payment receipt of $35 (processing fee per certification); recommendation letter from Supervisor/Principal; proof of completion of 120 hours of seminars, workshops, or in-service training as sanctioned by PSS/BOE and or equivalent university or college courses.
Instructor I	Yes	99	2	Signed and completed certification application form; police clearance; payment receipt of $35 (processing fee per certification); recommendation letter from a supervisor/principal; proof of completion of 120 hours of seminars, workshops, or in-service training as sanctioned by PSS/BOE and or equivalent university or college courses.
Instructor II	Yes	99	4	Signed and completed certification application form; police clearance; payment receipt of $35 (processing fee per certification); proof of completion of 240 hours of seminars, workshops, or in-service training as sanctioned by PSS/BOE and or equivalent university or college courses.
Instructor III	Yes	99	6	Signed and completed certification application form; police clearance; payment receipt of $35 (processing fee per certification); proof of completion of 360 hours of seminars, workshops, or in-service training as sanctioned by PSS/BOE and or equivalent university or college courses.
Professional	Yes	99	10	Met requirements for a Standard certificate; signed and completed certification application form; police clearance; payment receipt of $35 (processing fee per certification); 3 recommendation letters from Supervisor/Principal, a colleague, and a Parent or Former Student including performance evaluations (based on cumulative performance over a contract term) describing the candidates proficiency, skills, and competency; official transcript or certificate of completion of specific Standard courses; proof of completion of 600 hours of seminars, workshops, or in-service training as sanctioned by PSS/BOE and or equivalent university or college courses.
Specialized	Yes	99	2	Signed and completed certification application form; police clearance; payment receipt of $35 (processing fee per certification); proof of completion of 120 hours of seminars, workshops, or in-service training as sanctioned by PSS/BOE and or equivalent university or college courses.
Standard	Yes	99	5	Met requirements for a Basic II certificate; signed and completed certification application form; police clearance; payment receipt of $35 (processing fee per certification); recommendation letter from Supervisor/Principal, a colleague, and a Parent or Former Student; official transcript or certificate of completion of specific Standard courses; proof of completion of 300 hours of seminars, workshops, or in-service training as sanctioned by PSS/BOE and or equivalent university or college courses.

Emergency and temporary credentials

Title II lists no emergency or temporary credential for Northern Mariana Islands.

Out-of-state teachers

Title II lists no separate out-of-state credential for Northern Mariana Islands. Ask CNMI State Board of Education how it reviews licenses from other states.

Newly licensed teachers prepared out of state: 0.

Alternative routes

Title II lists no alternative route for Northern Mariana Islands.

About Northern Mariana Islands certification

The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) is an insular area of the United States of America. Through the Covenant Agreement of 1976 (http://www.cnmilaw.org/covenant.htm), the CNMI entered into a unique political union with the US that exists to the present day. Recent changes in the CNMI-USA relationship, however, occurred in 2007 and have already had a significant impact in the CNMI. Namely, federal labor laws were implemented in July 2007. Prior to this, the CNMI had local control of labor. On August 30, 2011, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Janet Napolitano, signed the regulations governing foreign workers in the CNMI. Beginning November 27, 2011, foreign workers will need to have a U.S. employment visa to remain in the CNMI. Although it may not have a large impact on the number of teachers of the CNMI Public School System, it may impact the number of students whose parents fall under this category.

The Government of the CNMI, through the autonomous Board of Education (BOE) and the PSS, provides K-12 public school education within a single school district for all school children. There are twenty public schools in the CNMI servicing over 11,000 public school children. PSS employs over 1,000 employees. Of this number, approximately 500 are PSS classroom teachers.

The Northern Marianas College (NMC), accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), is the only institution of higher education (IHE) in the CNMI. The NMC School of Education (SOE) is dedicated to enhancing the quality of education in the CNMI by providing a Bachelor of Science degree in Education with emphasis in Elementary Education, Early Childhood, Special Education, and Human Services. The SOE also offers certificate programs in Early Childhood and Related Services designed to engage paraprofessionals in a developmental environment of acquiring the knowledge, attitudes, and skills to promote educational excellence and equity in the classroom. The NMC Elementary Education Program is designed to engage education students in the developmental process of acquiring the knowledge, attitudes and skills necessary to promote educational excellence and equity in the classroom. The Bachelor of Science degree program is based upon the latest research and current best educational and classroom practices. The NMC School of Education’s faculty design courses to incorporate the cultural strengths of the children of the CNMI and teach how to match those strengths to teaching practices.

The CNMI, located in the western Pacific region, is isolated and remote. Approximately eight flight hours west of Hawaii, or four hours south of Japan, the CNMI experiences teacher recruitment and retention challenges for all of its schools, particularly in the subject areas of secondary math, science, English and special education. The presence of only one teacher preparation institution in the CNMI results in lower numbers of teaching graduates to meet the CNMI’s recruitment needs. Consequently, the PSS relies on off-island teaching talent to supplement recruitment efforts. Online recruitment strategies and attendance to traditional recruitment events are utilized to meet this end.

Additionally, a sluggish CNMI economy has meant that the PSS has been operating on the same continuing budget resolution since 1998, despite adding five schools and over 2,000 students since then. In fact, in Fiscal Year 2007, the PSS suffered a five percent budget reduction, the lowest budget given to the PSS in almost ten years. For Fiscal Year 2009, the budget allocation for the PSS remained the same. And for Fiscal Year 2010, the PSS was allotted $2 million less than the previous Fiscal Year. The budgetary constraints do not allow PSS to offer a more generous compensation package, including relocation expenses or housing allowance for any off-island hire, thereby exacerbating the recruitment challenge. The budgetary and geographic constraint also inhibits recruitment efforts.

Despite the budgetary challenges of the CNMI, the CNMI Legislature provides educational assistance to aspiring local college students. The CNMI Scholarship Office (http://www.cnmischolarship.com/index.html) offers financial assistance to US citizens with residency in the CNMI. The Saipan Higher Education Financial Assistance Program (SHEFA at http://www.saipanshefa.com/default.asp ) is also available to all US citizens with residency on the island of Saipan. At the conclusion of college studies, recipients of these programs, whether attending NMC on-island or attending any other off-island institution of higher education, are obligated to return within three months to the CNMI to work for a certain number of years. Failure to return and serve in the CNMI requires scholarship recipients to repay the CNMI government.

How to become a teacher in Northern Mariana Islands Northern Mariana Islands teacher preparation providers

Frequently asked questions

How do I get a teaching certificate in Northern Mariana Islands?

Northern Mariana Islands reports 8 credentials to Title II, 2 of them initial. 1 initial credentials require a bachelor's degree, 0 require a preparation program and 1 require tests. Apply through CNMI State Board of Education.

How do I verify a teaching license in Northern Mariana Islands?

Licenses are verified on the lookup service run by CNMI State Board of Education. PT3 does not verify licenses.

Can I renew a Northern Mariana Islands teaching certificate?

8 of 8 Northern Mariana Islands credentials are reported as renewable. Renewal details by credential are listed in the Renewal section.

Does Northern Mariana Islands issue emergency or temporary teaching certificates?

Title II lists no emergency or temporary credential for Northern Mariana Islands.

Can I teach in Northern Mariana Islands with an out-of-state license?

Title II lists no separate out-of-state credential for Northern Mariana Islands. Ask CNMI State Board of Education how it reviews licenses from other states.

Is there alternative teacher certification in Northern Mariana Islands?

Title II lists no alternative route for Northern Mariana Islands.