Start Your Teaching Journey with District Five

For those with a degree in education and are ready to begin teaching:

We are hiring! Join us on January 11, 2025. Register to attend our Hiring Event today!

Monetary incentives, especially for new teachers! New Educator Retention Incentive

• APPLY to School District Five of Lexington and Richland Counties Click here to apply
  • Complete each section of the application, answering all questions
  • Include three professional references
    • One must be from a Coaching Teacher
    • One must be from a University Supervisor
    • One is a professional reference of your choice

Apply to the South Carolina Department of Education for your teaching certificate

• Click here to go to the Educator Portal
• Click here to see the checklist of items

For questions about your application or certification requirements, please call:

Melanie Cohen

Experienced Teacher Information for those already certified in South Carolina or another state.

We are hiring! Join us on January 11, 2025. Register to attend our Hiring Event today!

As an experienced teacher, these are the steps you need to follow:

APPLY to School District Five of Lexington and Richland Counties.

• Complete each section of the application, answering all questions
• Include three professional references
  • One must be from your current or most recent building- level principal
  • Two may be professional references of your choice

As a teacher certified in another state, these are the steps you need to follow to become certified in South Carolina:

APPLY to the South Carolina Department of Education for your teaching certificate.

Click here to see the checklist of items needed for certification.

For questions about your application or certification requirements, please call:

Melanie Cohen

Information on Programs for Teacher Certification for those who do not have a degree in education.

TeachSC.org provides one-on-one coaching to help anyone who wants to become a teacher achieve their dream career. This organization has scholarship opportunities and step by step guides to getting your South Carolina certification.

If you already have a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university:

Certification Only Programs

South Carolina has several approved programs for alternative certification. District Five accepts candidates from each of the programs listed below:

• American Board
• CarolinaCAP
• PACE (Program of Alternative Certification for Educators)
• Teachers of Tomorrow

If you do not have a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university:

Your first step is to obtain your Bachelor’s degree. There are many local and online universities that allow you to obtain a Bachelor’s degree online.

School District Five partners with Columbia International University (CIU) to offer tuition discounts to current employees. CIU offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in education in a variety of areas.

School District Five partners with Grand Canyon University to offer tuition discounts to current students, employees, and parents. GCU offers undergraduate degrees in education in a variety of areas.

For those currently employed in School District Five in a support position, there are specific opportunities available:

• APEC- Alternative Pathways to Educator Certification through Columbia College allows current support employees to earn a Master’s degree while completing a full year residency in a classroom in District Five. Opportunities are limited and require an application, interview, and acceptance into the program.
• SCCREATE- This allows current support employees interested in teaching special education to get a full tuition-paid Bachelor’s degree in return for teaching in South Carolina Public schools. Programs exist for the following:
  • Special Education Teacher (Bachelor’s degree)
  • Special Education Teacher (MAT degree)
  • Speech-Language Pathologist (Master's degree)

The following universities offer CREATE programs:

• Clemson University
• Coastal Carolina University
• College of Charleston- Entire program for BS degree is online and asynchronous
• Converse University
• Francis Marion University
• Furman University
• Lander University
• Southern Wesleyan University
• University of Illinois-Chicago
• University of South Carolina- Columbia
• University of South Carolina- Upstate
• Winthrop University

For questions about your application or certification requirements, please call:

Melanie Cohen