School Nurse Teacher Certification in Rhode Island
Overview
The Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) is no longer doing transcript review for School Nurse Teacher (SNT) certification. To meet the requirements to earn this certification, RIDE recommends that you complete a Credential Review Pathway (CRP) through Rhode Island College, a Credential Review Consortium Institution (CRCI). The most common set of requirements recommended to successful applicants is an 8-class sequence of courses, all of which are available through RIC’s graduate studies program. See the section on “Courses” below for more information.
The RIC credentialing pathway allows prospective and current school nurse teachers who meet the following qualifications to achieve certification by working with Rhode Island College's Feinstein School of Education and Human Development:
Required Qualifications for Admission to the Credentialing Pathway:
- A Bachelor of Sciences degree from an accredited institution,
- A record of past and ongoing academic excellence (i.e., a minimum GPA of 3.0),
- A current Rhode Island R.N. license, and
- Three years’ documented experience as a full-time R.N. (or an individually accepted equivalent).
Students enrolled in the program are also expected to attain “extensive teaching experience” in the desired certification area. “Extensive teaching experience” is defined by RIDE as meaning the following:
- A full semester of supervised student teaching in the desired certification area (if you are a recent graduate) or
- 270+ days of full-time daily or long-term substitute teaching in the desired certification area.*
Work experience in a non-classroom SNT position or as a Teacher’s Assistant does not meet this requirement. You must be fully in charge of the class to meet this requirement.
* NOTE: The RIC CRP course plan includes supervised student teaching that meets certification requirements for student teaching. You will not need to complete additional student teaching hours. Details are arranged with the class’ professors.
Alternatively, individuals can complete the full requirements to earn certification in a state with which Rhode Island has certificate reciprocity. Individuals who choose this option should contact RIDE to complete the reciprocity paperwork after completing all requirements for that state.
Courses
Pathway Course Requirements
Certification requirements are met by taking the following set of courses:
HPE 500: Introduction to Health Education and Health Promotion; offered in fall semesters (formerly HPE 404)
HPE 503: Health Education Pedagogy; offered in spring semesters (formerly HPE 501)
HPE 504: Application of Health Content; offered in fall semesters (formerly HPE 505)
HPE 531: Methods and Procedures for School Nurse Teachers; offered in spring semesters
CEP 532: Theories and Methods of Counseling; offered in fall, spring, and sometimes summer semesters
CEP 552: Psychological Perspectives on Learning and Teaching; offered in fall and sometimes summer semesters
SPED 531: Universal Design for Educating All Students; offered in fall, spring, and sometimes summer semesters
and one of the following:
FNED 502: Social Issues in Education; offered in fall, spring, and sometimes summer semesters (recommended)
or
FNED 546: Foundations of Education; offered in fall or spring semesters
Students who are interested in transferring credits from other institutions must obtain copies of the syllabus and a full description of at least two assignments and submit these to Dr. Christine Kunkel, Liaison, RIC CRP, at ckunkel@ric.edu, who will forward them to the appropriate evaluator.
Students Enrolled Before September 2018
Students who took HPE 404, 501, and/or 505 before September 2018 will have a course substitution form completed on their behalf during their Exit Verification and are considered to have completed the requirements for HPE 500, 503, and/or 504, respectively. All others should complete the full course series noted above.
Order of Courses and PRAXIS Exam
HPE 500, 503, and 504 should be taken in this (i.e., numerical) order, as the content of each course builds upon the content of the previous course. It is recommended that students begin with HPE 500 in the first fall of their enrollment in the Certification Pathway, and that they complete HPE 531 after completing the other three HPE courses. Students are eligible to enroll in other courses, such as the CEP, SPED, or FNED courses before enrolling in HPE 500.
After completing all required courses, students must take the PRAXIS exam in order to meet RIDE requirements in order to complete all RI requirements for certification. Student teaching requirements will be met through the classes listed above.The RI PRAXIS Requirements can be found here: RI PRAXIS Requirements: https://www.ets.org/praxis/ri/requirements/.
Enrolling in RIC Courses
Students who have never attended Rhode Island College, will need to create an account to obtain a username, password, and appointment time in order to register for classes. To do this, students must contact the RIC Records Office and request a User ID and Password. For information on this process, go to the following page for detailed, updated directions:
http://www.ric.edu/recordsoffice/Pages/Prospective-Students-and-Parents.aspx
After enrolling in your first RIC course, send an email to Dr. Christine Kunkel at ckunkel@ric.edu. In the email message, write, “I am a RIC CRP applicant with a Plan of Study. One of the actions on my POS is to enroll in and complete a RIC course. I just enrolled in the RIC course. Students enrolled in a Certification Pathway are categorized as non-degree-seeking students and have a later registration date than students who are enrolled in degree programs. This does not mean that you will lose your seat in a class or that you need to do anything before your registration date; it is purely procedural. For dates in each semester, visit http://www.ric.edu/recordsoffice/Pages/Registration-Dates.aspx.
Applying to the Certification Pathway
If you have RI School Nurse Teacher Preliminary certification and need to renew your certification or do not yet have the preliminary certification but would like to begin working toward becoming a Certified School Nurse Teacher through RIC, you will need to start the CRP process.
To determine whether RIC CRP is the best pathway for you to achieve the desired certification, click on the following URL: http://www.ric.edu/feinsteinschooleducationhumandevelopment/Pages/CRPapplication-overview.aspx
You will be directed to a link to a Google Form survey called "RIC CRP Potential Application Overview” and instructions for gathering information and documents needed for the survey. No fee is assessed at this time.
We will email our recommendation for the recommended pathway to certification to you shortly after receiving your survey response – typically within one week. If you are recommended for RIC CRP as a pathway to certification, Dr. Kunkel will send you a URL to the FULL online application, along with instructions and other useful information. The process of assessing the FULL online application with ALL required documentation can take up to 14 weeks after we receive
- A completed FULL online application,
- ALL required documentation forms, and
- The $150 application fee.
The online application will require you to upload official transcripts, along with a copy of your nurse’s license and the following forms:
Work Experience as a Registered Nurse Verification Form:http://www.ric.edu/healthphysicaleducation/documents/NursingWorkVerification.pdf
Work Experience Verification Form: http://www.ric.edu/healthphysicaleducation/documents/WorkVerificationForm-SNTC_CRP_RIC.pdf
You will need to create a separate .pdf document for each transcript and form that you will upload. You do not need to complete the application in full at one time; you will be able to save your work and return to the application at a later time. If you are accepted, you will receive a Plan of Study and other recommendations from the CRP office. If you are not, you will receive an explanation of the requirements you will need to meet in order for you to qualify.
RIC CRP receives FULL online applications with documentation throughout the year. The process of assessing the online application with documentation can take up to 14 weeks after the date the online application is fully completed and the $150 fee has been received.
RIC Faculty CRP assessors are not expected to assess applications during the summer (May 15 - late August). Applications submitted between April 15 - June 3 may not be assessed until September 8. If you are applying for the re-issuance of an expert residency preliminary certificate (emergency certificate) and are required by RIDE to submit a CRP Status Form and Plan of Study as evidence of enrollment, we advise that you submit your CRP application materials and $150 fee no later than February 6 to prepare for the August 31 deadline. The Status Form and Plan of Study should be assessed by May 15.
For Further Information
For more information, email Dr. Christine Kunkel, Liaison, RIC CRP, at ckunkel@ric.edu and/or Dr. Carol Cummings, Associate Professor in the Department of Health and Physical Education, at ccummings@ric.edu.
For further information on the All-Grades SNT Certificate (11508) Pre-Kindergarten – Grade 12, see alsohttp://www.ride.ri.gov/Portals/0/Uploads/Documents/Teachers-and-Administrators-Excellent-Educators/Educator-Certification/Cert-Requirements/AG-SchNursTeach-Req.pdf
You can also contact the Office of Educator Excellence and Certification Services at 401-222-8893. This is also the office to contact for assistance in renewing your emergency and ongoing certifications.
Master of Education in Health Education Degree
Many courses taken for the School Nurse Teacher Certification can be transferred into the Master of Education Program that is also offered by the HPE Department. In addition, students who have successfully completed their first four courses in the CRP and have a GPA of 3.0 or greater will have the GRE requirement waived. For further information, visit the website at
http://www.ric.edu/healthPhysicalEducation/Pages/M.Ed.-in-Health-Education.aspx or contact Dr. Carol Cummings at
ccummings@ric.edu.
Additional Resources
The following resources are available to you outside the RIC Program:
The Rhode Island Certified School Nurse Teacher Association: This is a non-profit organization; the site includes information, resources, and professional support. You are eligible to participate before you are fully certified. The site includes sign-up information for those who want to become members:
https://ricsnta.nursingnetwork.com/
Alice Brady has deep expertise in School Nurse Teachers’ roles and resources. She currently teaches our HPE 531 course, but has also offered to be available to you outside this role. Her email address is abrady@ric.edu.
