Safety and Driver's Education Endorsement: What It Is and How It Can Advance Your Career
The Safety and Driver's Education Endorsement for Secondary Teachers of Safety and Driver Education is a specialized teaching endorsement that authorizes a secondary teacher of safety and driver education to teach Driver's Education at the high school level. Driver's Education Teaching Endorsements are a unique teaching credential that only a handful of programs in the country offer. This is an ideal opportunity for secondary educators to increase their marketability in teaching and the professional world. National Louis University's Safety and Driver's Education Endorsement Program is offered through National throughuis University's National College of Education (NCE) and is designed for certified Illinois teachers who hold a Professional Educator License.
What Is a Safety and Driver's Education Endorsement?
Safety and Driver's Education Endorsement Programs typically cover both classroom and behind-the-wheel instruction. Most programs teach teachers how to teach Traffic Safety Education, as well as the Safety portion of the program. Because a SafeBecaused Driver's Education Endorsement is an additional endorsement to a current Secondary Teaching License, teachers can earn it to teach in a Secondary Setting.
National Louis University's Safety and Driver's Education Endorsement program for Secondary Teachers is an 18-semester-hour endorsement program for certified Illinois teachers holding a secondary Professional Educator License. This limited-endorsement program is offered by only a few institutions nationally. Unlike other online programs, limited-endorsement programs often receive first consideration from students searching for an online program. They are then offered to students on the waiting list who previously considered the program.
Why Pursue a Safety and Driver's Education Endorsement?
Pursuing the Safety and Driver's Education Endorsement is particularly attractive to secondary teachers because this is a scarce resource. Relatively few institutions offer Driver's Education Endorsement programs, which means those who earn this endorsement will hold a credential that is genuinely useful to schools. It is also, as NLU notes, a way for teachers to increase their marketability and boost their income, as with many other endorsements available to secondary school teachers.
An even greater draw for secondary teachers is that of practical application. Driver education classes offer benefits not found in typical academic subjects. Many candidates are motivated by the instruction, including classroom safety, which precedes the hands-on, behind-the-wheel teaching that follows. As mentioned, these sessions differ significantly from typical academic subjects and therefore often appeal to people with specific teaching interests and experiences.
Key Questions About This Endorsement
Do I need to hold a secondary teaching license to pursue this endorsement?
NLU's Safety and Driver's Education Endorsement program requires that the candidate is a certified Illinois teacher holding a secondary Professional Educator License. This endorsement is an add-on to the candidate's existing secondary teaching license. The program does not provide initial teacher licensure.
How much coursework does this endorsement typically require?
The Safety and Driver's Education Endorsement requires 18 semester hours of coursework for completion. Coursework requirements for this endorsement can vary by state and program. Therefore, applicants outside Illinois should check with programs in their own state for current requirements.
Because of the specialized coursework, especially the behind-the-wheel training, programs for this endorsement are relatively hard to find. Driver's education is often a standalone program within a high school; therefore, teachers with this endorsement often teach.
A limited number of programs are designed to prepare candidates to teach driver's education as well as safety education. Endorsement programs for an existing secondary teaching license require candidates to complete specialized coursework, including behind-the-wheel training. Such programs are often located at only a few institutions across the country. For this reason, online programs in this area of preparation are in high demand and have online waiting lists.
Is this endorsement delivered fully online?
All required coursework for this endorsement can be completed online through asynchronous coursework. The Safety and Driver's Education Endorsement is designed to allow secondary educators to earn an additional endorsement that can increase their marketability and potentially their income.
Career Impact
Teacher Candidates who complete this endorsement can teach high school driver's education. Many high schools need to staff a driver's education program to grant high school diplomas to all students. Relatively few teachers are prepared and licensed to teach such a program so that this endorsement can qualify them for this work, given the limited number of programs in the country. Offering it online as well as in classroom settings throughout the State of Illinois will certainly enhance the marketability of holders of this endorsement, and it will also be valuable in districts that offer a stipend to teach driver's education. It is of greatest value to enable the holder of this special endorsement to increase their income.
Another important point about this Safety and Driver's Education Endorsement is that, because of the nature of the courses, a great deal of time is spent coordinating behind-the-wheel training for students in the driver's education program. Therefore, teachers with this endorsement are a distinct group from the traditional academic department and coordinate driver's education for students to earn their driver's licenses.
Safety and Driver's Education Endorsement at National Louis University
National Louis University's National College of Education offers the Safety and Driver's Education Endorsement through online asynchronous coursework as an 18-semester-hour endorsement for Illinois secondary teachers holding a secondary Professional Educator License. NLU notes that only a limited number of institutions offer this endorsement nationally and that it can increase a teacher's marketability and income.
