Required Documentation (Out-of-state)

Please note: If you submitted documentation during the 2010 or 2011 application year, your documentation should still be on file in the Office of Strategic Teacher Recruitment and Staffing. However, if you are a former Memphis City Schools employee, you are not required to submit any documents other than any transcripts that reflect recent coursework, new Praxis score reports or licensure with updated endorsements.

In preparation for applying to Memphis City Schools, please note the required documentation for certified teachers with an out-of-state teaching license:*

  • Out-of-state candidates must apply for a teaching license with the Tennessee Department of Education. Please click HERE to visit the Tennessee Department of Education Office of Teacher Licensing website or call (615) 532-4885 for more information about certification and reciprocity requirements.
  • A copy of your Tennessee teaching license.
  • A copy of your teaching license from your current state 
  • Certified applicants must submit one official transcript for every undergraduate and graduate institution attended.* We urge you to begin looking into the process for ordering transcripts from your institution(s) right way.  It is to a candidate’s benefit to request the appropriate transcripts early while waiting for a decision from Teach Memphis.
  • Proof of your Highly Qualified status (a copy of your PRAXIS scores, a letter from your previous school district that states that you are Highly Qualified to teach in that state, National Board Certification, OR a HOUSSE** professional matrix approved by the Tennessee Department of Education) You can have Praxis scores sent electronically to our office by using the Teach Memphis recipient code 1827 when you register for your test or when you make a request to have scores sent.

 

We recommend uploading your documentation allows us to receive and review your documents faster, thus shortening the time it takes for admission to the Teacher Candidate Pool. You can submit your documentation in one of three ways:

  • As an upload via the Documents Required tab of your Applicant Portal (preferred)*
  • Via fax to 1-866-927-5215
  • By mail, addressed to STARS Office, Memphis City Schools, 2597 Avery Ave. Room 148-B, Memphis, TN 38112

 

To upload your documents to the Documents Required page of your Applicant Portal, please follow the steps below.

  1. Click the Documents Required button at the top of the page inside your Applicant Portal.
  2. Click the Browse button to the right of the document you wish to upload.
  3. Locate your file in the upload file window, and then click Open. The name your file and the file path will show up in the field.
  4. Click the Upload button, and allow the page to refresh.
  5. The status of your document will change to Receive but not Approved. This status will change once our office verifies the authenticity of your document. Once verified, you will be unable to delete your uploaded documents.
  6. To view the document you uploaded, click the magnifying glass in the View/Delete column to the right of the document name.
  7. If you uploaded the wrong document, click the trash can icon in the View/Delete column, and begin the upload process again.

You will receive an email confirming the receipt of this document soon after uploading it. After you submit all required documents, a Teach Memphis team member will review your documents in order to ensure your eligibility for the Teacher Candidate Pool.

 

If you attended a foreign college or university, please submit a course-by-course evaluation from one of the following state-approved evaluation services:

World Evaluation Services 

Josef Silny 

Association of International Credential Evaluator (AICE) 

Academic Credentials Evaluation Institution (ACEI) 

American Association of Collegiate Registrars & Admission Officers (AACRAO) 

Foreign Consultants, Inc. 

Evaluation Services, Inc.

Foundation for International Service 

Global Credential Evaluators 

IERF: International Education Research Foundation 

ECE: Educational Credential Evaluations  

 

*Teach Memphis keeps documentation on file for two consecutive application years. If you applied and submitted documentation to our office during the 2010 or 2011 application years, it is likely that this documentation is still on file. However, if you've earned additional endorsements, degrees, or have taken and passed Praxis exams recently, we may ask you to submit these updated documents.

If you have not already done so, we encourage you to review the necessary steps for applying for Tennessee certification if you do not currently hold a certificate from Tennessee. Although Teach Memphis will provide certification navigation services throughout the process, it is ultimately the candidate’s responsibility to be sure that s/he is fully eligible to teach in Tennessee.  

**Only fully certified teachers hired before the 2002-03 school year are eligible to have their highly qualified status evaluated using the HOUSSE professional matrix.

PLEASE NOTE: THE PROCESS FOR SECURING YOUR OUT-OF-STATE TN TEACHING LICENSE IS LENGTHY.  PLEASE BE SURE TO REVIEW THE STEPS AND BEGIN GATHERING ANY REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION IMMEDIATELY.  FAILURE TO DO SO MAY RESULT IN YOUR NOT BEING ABLE TO BE PLACED IN THE TEACHER POOL EVEN IF YOU MEET ALL OTHER REQUIREMENTS.  INFORMATION ON SECURING YOUR OUT-OF-STATE TN LICENSE CAN BE FOUND AT http://www.state.tn.us/education/lic/out.shtml.