Why get certification?
For the Music Teacher
- Encourages improvement in teaching through continuous self-study and planning.
- Raises the likelihood for a higher level of teacher competency and effectiveness.
- Provides a goal for personal professional achievement for music teachers.
- Increases the potential for earning power for music teachers.
- Improves the level of professionalism within the field of music teaching.
- Identifies for the public competent music teachers.
For MTNA
Certification Resources
MTNA Certification webpage:
www.mtnacertification.org/
Search for NCTM teachers in the state of Mississippi
Please contact Jacquelyn Thornell, MMTA Chair of Certification at jsthornell@bellsouth.net, for more information.
- Fosters excellence in music education through the development of criteria, standards, and guidelines for assessing educational competencies in performance, music theory, music history/literature, and pedagogy/teacher education.
- Assures the educational community, the general public, and other agencies or organizations that the MTNA Professional Certification Program for music teachers has been clearly defined with appropriate standards.
- Provides a national forum for the discussion and consideration of concerns relevant to the preservation and advancement of standards in the field of music and music education.
- Develops a national unity and strength for the purpose of maintaining the position of music study in the family of fine arts and humanities and providing qualified teachers to guide that study.
- Sets a uniform national minimum standard of achievement without restricting the development of new ideas, experimentation, or the expansion of personal standards.
Philosophy
Certification is a process that validates an individual's qualifications for a specific field of professional practice. It demonstrates to employers, clients, and peers that which the individual knows and is able to do. It signifies commitment to continued excellence in professional practice. In addition, it increases visibility, builds credibility, provides a goal for personal professional achievement, and validates expertise for the individual and to those outside the field.
The MTNA Professional Certification program exists for teachers who teach music to students of any age level in private or group settings. The program is based upon a set of five standards defining what a competent music teacher should know and be able to do:
Standard I: Professional Preparation
Standard II: Professional Teaching Practices
Standard III: Professional Business Management
Standard IV: Professionalism and Partnerships
Standard V: Professional and Personal Renewal
Upon fulfillment of these standards, applicants are granted the MTNA Professional Certification credential with the designation, Nationally Certified Teacher of Music (NCTM). The credential and designation are granted without bias, discrimination, or favoritism between MTNA members and/or non-members or any other arbitrary differentiation. In order to maintain the MTNA Professional Certification credential and designation, NCTM must continue fulfilling the program's standards through the renewal process.
The MTNA Professional Certification program is objectively administered in a uniform manner to ensure fairness, accuracy, validity, and integrity. Due process for reconsideration and reinstatement is included in the program for certification candidates, renewal candidates, and for those who already hold the MTNA Professional Certification credential.