Credentials

What they are
Credentials include letters of recommendation and academic transcripts. Keep in mind that credentials should offer testimonials that will support and verify what you have said about yourself on your resume, your application, and in your interview. Sometimes employers will also request that you include your resume, copies of teaching license, and evaluations from student teaching experiences with your credentials. Be sure to contact the school district to verify what exactly they would like in their specific credential file.

Why you need them
Letters of recommendation and references are written and verbal accounts of your skills, strengths, and abilities as related to your discipline and future job performance. References and recommendations play a very important role in the decision making process for an employer or interviewer.

How you get them
Candidates should give careful attention to selecting reference writers. Refer to the handout “Requesting A Letter Of Recommendation” which provides concrete and step-by-step instructions for this very important task. Please make sure that you give your references enough time to write a good recommendation.

You are encouraged to consider references who speak to as broad a range of your experiences as possible, even though these may not have been teaching or classroom experiences. Additional references may include:
· the principal of the school where you did your student teaching if he/she had an opportunity to get to know you well
· another teacher on staff with whom you worked on a project or extra-curricular activity
· a former or present supervisor from a work experience
· a supervisor or colleague from a volunteer or other community service experience
· college professors who have had the opportunity to come to know your abilities well

Even though these may not have been teaching experiences, these people may be able to reference skills that an employer would be looking for in a teacher, such as good communication skills, a high level of commitment, quick thinking and flexibility, the ability to work well with others, an upbeat personality, and so much more.

Ask for letters of recommendation from as many people as seems appropriate based on your experience and background. You will limit how many recommendations you send to employers based on their instructions. However, having a number of letters to pick from enables you to choose the ones that best support your application for that particular position.

WHO wants them, and WHEN . . .
School districts (or a school principal in charge of hiring) will request your credentials at some point in their application process, most typically as a part of your initial application packet. Terminology may vary slightly, including requests for your "credential file", "placement file", or simply for "letters of recommendation and references". The essential expectation here is that the potential employer receive copies of your letters of recommendation and academic transcripts.

Most often school districts will recommend that you send them one complete application packet containing all of the components they require for your file/application to be considered complete; this may include your completed application, a letter of interest (cover letter), resume, letters of recommendation, a copy of your transcript, and a copy of your teaching license, or file number from your application in process. If you have not yet applied for your teaching license, you may be asked to obtain a letter from the CSC Education department stating that you have met or will meet all of the requirements needed to be issued a license.

A vast majority of school districts do not require confidential copies of your credentials in the application process. There has been only the rare instance over the past several years where a school district required that a confidential set of credentials. We will provide that service whenever necessary.

WHERE you keep them . . .
You will most likely need to create and manage your own credential file. You may decide to collect and keep safe all of your own original documents, i.e. letters of recommendation, academic transcripts, student teaching evaluations, and letters. The credentials that you provide to a potential employer are copies that you have made from original documents. You may want to create a cover sheet for your credentials that identifies the packet as credentials for (your name), and include pertinent information such as "graduate of The College of St. Catherine, (when), licensed to teach (subject/academic area and grades), and contact information (phone, e-mail, address)". You will want to keep a number of copies of each of your letters on hand at all times.