The Educator Application and Certification Hub (TEACH

The Educator Application and Certification Hub (TEACH) - Maryland’s NEW Educator Portal

MCPS TEACH APPLICATION GUIDE-INITIAL APPLICATION

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New Maryland educators who have never held a Maryland Educator Certificate and are employed by MCPS in

a position requiring Maryland certification MUST complete an initial application for certification – this is a

Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) requirement.

You must follow the step-by-step instructions in this guide to navigate successfully through the

application.

1) Log into the TEACH system at https://certificationhub.msde.maryland.gov (You will need to register

on TEACH before you can log into the system.)

2) To begin the initial application process so that MCPS can issue your first Maryland certificate, select a

Category of Certification, and then click Next.

3) Click on the statement in red font to review the requirements for certification. You will not be able to

choose a certification area until you click on the red words and review the requirements. After you read

the requirements, return to the page with your application. Under Areas of Certification click the box(es)

for the requested area(s) of certification. This certification area is the one for which you were hired by

MCPS.

4) Answer YES to the question “Are you prepared to provide all the required documentation for this

application?”; otherwise you will not be able to go forward. MCPS will determine what type of

certificate you are eligible for, so don’t worry if you are not yet eligible for full Maryland certification. In

other words, you will answer YES even if you have requirements left to qualify for a regular (versus

conditional or resident teacher) Maryland certificate. Click Next.

The Educator Application and Certification Hub (TEACH) - Maryland’s NEW Educator Portal

MCPS TEACH APPLICATION GUIDE-INITIAL APPLICATION

2 | Page

5) As directed in the Application Instructions section, if you have any questions, please email the MCPS

Certification Unit at [email protected]. DO NOT contact MSDE with questions. Since you

are employed with MCPS, all questions regarding Maryland certification are required to be answered by the

MCPS Certification Unit.

NOTE: You must complete all sections of the application before you can submit. As you complete each

section, the red X will change to a green checkmark √ At the end of each section, click Save & Next.

6) In the Personal Information section, you are required to upload a valid, unexpired proof of

identification. After you have answered the question, “Are you a citizen of the United States?” select one

of the options listed in Identification Type, and upload a copy of your identification to the system.

Please choose an application that the system and MCPS can open and view (i.e., PDF, JPG, Word,

etc.) Once uploaded, choose Click here to complete Upload, then click Save & Next.

The Educator Application and Certification Hub (TEACH) - Maryland’s NEW Educator Portal

MCPS TEACH APPLICATION GUIDE-INITIAL APPLICATION

3 | Page

7) In the Education section, if not already entered, enter your college/university information only for

institutions where a degree was earned. Please DO NOT UPLOAD ANY TRANSCRIPTS because they

will not be considered official. Check the box for “I am sending an official copy of my transcript by

mail.” The MCPS Certification Unit will upload official transcripts to your TEACH records.

REMINDER: If you have not yet submitted your official transcripts to MCPS during the hiring process,

see our Submitting Official Transcripts information page to send them to the MCPS Certification Unit.

Please DO NOT send transcripts to MSDE. MCPS will handle adding the official transcripts to your

TEACH records.

8) In the Employment History – Maryland Public School Experience section, list only your Maryland

teaching experience. MCPS will take care of marking “currently employed” for your MCPS experience.

The Educator Application and Certification Hub (TEACH) - Maryland’s NEW Educator Portal

MCPS TEACH APPLICATION GUIDE-INITIAL APPLICATION

4 | Page

9) In the Employment History – Other Education Experience section, list all other teaching experience

outside of Maryland. This is optional if you want this in your MSDE records. Otherwise, check the box

for “I do not have any information for this section” and then Save & Next

10) The Employment History – Career and Technical Education Work Experience section is only for

educators hired to teach a Professional Technical Education (PTE) subject and who have occupational

experience applicable to the PTE subject being taught. If this does not apply, check the box for “I do not

have any information for this section” and Save & Next

11) In the Testing section, enter any tests that are required for teacher certification by clicking on Add Testing

and enter the information in the fields marked with a red asterisk*. Next select the option “I am uploading

a copy of my score report,” and upload the test score document. If you do not have any tests scores to

enter because you need tests or do not have your score reports, click the box for “I do not have any

information for this section” and Save & Next

The Educator Application and Certification Hub (TEACH) - Maryland’s NEW Educator Portal

MCPS TEACH APPLICATION GUIDE-INITIAL APPLICATION

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12) The Military Service Information section is optional. Otherwise, click the box for “I do not have any

information for this section” and Save & Next

13) Answer the four questions to complete the Disciplinary Action and Criminal History section and click

Save & Next

14) In the Affirmation and Signature section, click on the box in the upper left corner “By checking this

box,”. Then type your name in the Signature box exactly as it appears in the gray box in the affirmation “I,

Your Name , hereby affirm…” Click Save & Next

The Educator Application and Certification Hub (TEACH) - Maryland’s NEW Educator Portal

MCPS TEACH APPLICATION GUIDE-INITIAL APPLICATION

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15) In the Application Submission section, please be sure to click on Submit Application.

16) Once submitted, you will receive a MSDE TEACH automatically generated email thanking you for

submitting your application. You will be able to monitor the progress of the application on your TEACH

Dashboard. The MCPS Certification Unit will review your application. When MCPS has issued your

Maryland Educator Certificate, you will receive an email notification via MSDE TEACH, sent by MCPS, to

pay for your new certificate online. You must take care of that task right away. Paid = Active Certificate =

Certified

NOTE: If deficiencies are found in the application, MCPS will contact you via email to make the

correction. You will receive an email notification from MSDE TEACH, sent by MCPS, to supply what is

needed. You will be able to “resolve the deficiency” via your TEACH Educator Dashboard.