Religious Education > Certification of Catholic School Teachers

Catechist Certification Requirements for Catholic School Teachers in the Diocese of Jefferson City

At the core of the mission of Catholic schools is catechesis - nurturing faith within the Christian community through instruction, personal witness, prayer and example. In the Diocese of Jefferson City catechist certification is required for all teachers in Catholic schools within seven years of employment. All teachers must meet this requirement in the time allowed or his or her contract will not be renewed for the subsequent year. Teachers can figure the year they must be certified by adding seven years to their employment year. Each teacher is responsible for his/her own progress toward certification. It is imperative that teachers understand the requirements and work to complete their certification on time.  Volunteers and paraprofessional personnel are not required to be certified.

Competency-Based

The catechist certification program in the Diocese of Jefferson City is competency-based. In order to complete the requirements for certification, teachers must complete an initial self-assessment using the appropriate competency form as they begin doing course work. A final assessment and an interview are done at the completion of each course. The competency form must be signed by the interviewer and sent to the Religious Education Office before courses are counted for certification.

Formal and Informal Certification

All teachers in Catholic schools have a role in carrying out the catechetical mission of the Church. Therefore, all are catechists either in a formal way (teachers who are Catholic) or in an informal way (teachers of other faiths). Thus, there are two tracks in the certification program:

InFormal Certification is for Catholic teachers.

Informal Certification is for teachers of other faiths who, because of their presence in the school, can have a great impact on the faith of students.

All teachers who teach religion must be Catholic.

Requirements for Formal Certification

Complete the basic or Initiate Level of certification within one year of employment. This involves taking the Cultivating the Word course.

Complete the second or Apprentice Level of certification within seven years of employment. This includes five areas of competency, which are fulfilled by the doctrine, morality, scripture, liturgy/sacraments and creative catechesis courses. The courses are sixteen hours long (except for creative catechesis, which is twelve hours).

Requirements for Informal Certification

Complete the Initiate Level of certification within one year of employment by attending at least the first half of the Cultivating the Word course.

Complete the Apprentice Level of certification within seven years of employment. This includes four areas of competency which may be fulfilled by attending the doctrine, morality, liturgy/sacrament and scripture courses.

Independent Study

Because of the difficulty in scheduling courses to meet everyone’s needs, some Apprentice Level certification courses are available on video for independent study.  Courses may be completed by watching a series of videos, reading the handouts and doing the assigned written work. However, the Initiate Level must be completed by attending the Cultivating the Word course.

Those doing independent study are responsible for obtaining the videos, completing the written work and returning assigned work to the Religious Education Office. Independent study packets are available from the Religious Education Office. Independent study is not encouraged for formal catechists. Evidence of competency development for those doing independent study is verified by a staff person from the Religious Education Office through a review of the written work and/or an interview.

Scheduling Courses

Anyone may contact the Religious Education Office to request a course. It is very helpful if school staffs meet and discuss certification needs and contact the Office regarding the course needed and the most convenient time. Courses may be scheduled in two, three, four or eight-hour time blocks after school, during the evenings or on Saturdays. Some schools use in-service days for this purpose. Some courses are scheduled during one of the weeks prior to school starting in the Fall or one of the weeks after school is out in the Spring.

Record Keeping

The Religious Education Office keeps a certification file on each teacher as well as a record for each school. An update on each teacher’s progress is sent to the school principal each year. Teachers who are in danger of not completing their certification in the required length of time will be contacted.  Each teacher should keep a file with copies of certificates and assessment forms for areas of certification which are completed.

Special Circumstances

Teachers who have completed theology courses in Catholic colleges or certification courses in other dioceses may apply for credit for these by sending transcripts or records from other dioceses to the Religious Education Office.

Policy for Acceptance of Courses for Certification

The following are the requirements of the Religious Education Office for accepting courses for certification.

The parish or school arranging the course should contact the Religious Education
Office in advance and make arrangements.

1. The course must be taught by a qualified facilitator who provides a course outline
   to the Director of Religious Education.
   
   
2. The certification competencies must be used as course goals. The topics should attempt to cover all the competencies from a particular area.
   
   
3. The sessions should be based on the praxis method of teaching or some similar method. Certification courses are not meant to be information only.
   
   
4. The length of the course must be approximately 16 hours. This has been often done in 8 two-hour sessions but may also be done in other scheduling formats.

   4-four hour sessions
   3-five hour sessions
   2-eight hour sessions
   6-2 ½ hour sessions

All teachers in Catholic schools are Catechists, either formally (all Catholics) or informally (teachers of other faiths). Therefore all teachers must complete certification requirements, either Formal or Informal.

** Within ONE year of employment date (August 20th)
*** Within SEVEN years of employment date (August 20th)