you need a four year BA.

Start at the CC to get the basics out of the way, then transfer to a state college for the final two years and your credential. Student loans and grants are the way to go.

good luck!

The requirements for primary education credentialing varies from state to state…so start with a visit to your State’s Dept of Education website, and find the requirements for Teacher credential / licensing. The site should also list colleges with teacher training / certification programs. In some states, the required courses can vary from school to school depending on how the State Dept of Education certifies teacher training schools. Your school academic / career counselors may also have a handle on the various colleges, programs, and funding assistance.

Once you find the list of colleges with certified teacher training programs, get the college catalogs and find out which community colleges tend to have students transferring to those certified training colleges. Then get the catalogs of those community colleges and find out if they have programs that are more specifically aligned for prospective primary education teachers….not all community colleges do. If the community college does have a program aligned with elementary teacher training, so much the better.

It is very common for the first two years of college to focus on General Education requirements. So withing a regional accreditation association, the General Ed requirements are very similar, so you won’t be too off track by getting those out of the way at a community college (lower tuition costs) and then transferring to a 4-year school to complete your teaching credential. (However, when you include practice teaching, the BA/BS in elementary ed could turn out to be about 5-years long.) And then, there may be other licensing exams required as well before you can get paid to teach in the classroom.

Financial aid may be available if your GPA is high (3.5 or better is very helpful), and some school loan programs have “forgiveness” clauses where if you enter the teaching profession and work for a specified time, your loan is forgiven or substantially discounted. Also, in the past, there have been programs for new teachers taking jobs in urban / inner city schools, or rural areas / Indian reservations getting loan forgiveness or reduced repayments.

Check out local chapters of professional education groups and find the elementary ed folks and get together with them and pick their brains. Some local districts have severe shortages and have special programs to recruit new teachers close to finishing their credentials and give them special waivers or provisional credentials to get into the classroom and then, concurrently, finish their credentialing requirements within a set time limit. These local groups may also help you find some scholarship, grant, or loans to help you get your education and into teaching.

Hope this helps. Best wishes.