Oconee RESA is a Georgia Professional Standards Commission approved Educator Preparation Provider. Our alternative teacher preparation program is approved to offer GaTAPP for individuals who have completed a bachelor’s degree or higher but have not met the requirements for renewable teacher certification. Candidates are served through a blended (face-to-face/electronic model) to minimize teacher candidate travel and to minimize absences from the schools in which they teach. This program does not replace traditional teacher education programs offered by universities and colleges; instead, Georgia TAPP seeks to equip teacher candidates with skills that ensure a reasonable expectation of initial success in the classroom and to provide a supervised internship/induction program that will enable intern teachers to move toward subsequent mastery of teaching.
We offer training which will lead to professional renewable certification in the following fields.
Oconee RESA also offers the One Year Add-On Elementary Education.
* This is ONLY for teachers who are already certified and wish to change fields.
Step 1 - Submit Candidate Application (Form 1)
The first step to our admission process is to submit a Candidate Application for admission.
Step 2 - Submit Official College Transcripts
Candidates must have received a bachelor’s degree (or higher) from an accredited college or university in a related field of study (minimum 2.5 GPA).Click the link below to check for accreditation.
Please make sure that you submit all transcripts needed from each institution you have previously attended. Failure to submit all transcripts can delay the processing of your admission application.
Step 3 – Submit Copy of Certificate of Completion after taken Georgia Educator Ethics Exit Assessment 360
Candidates are required to have a passing score on the Georgia Ethics Assessment for Educators (360) for program entry. Candidates must submit a copy of certificate of completion, or it must state on the applicant's certificate that the assessment has been taken and passed.
Step 4 - Submit District Assurance (Form 2)
Candidates must have secured a job offer for a teaching position in a local system in a district served by Oconee RESA.
GaTAPP candidates must be employed by a regionally accredited local unit of administration (school district or private school), a charter school approved by the Georgia State Charter School Commission, or a charter school approved by the Georgia Department of Education as a classroom teacher full-time or part-time for at least a half day.
GaTAPP Program:
Submit application fee to:
Oconee RESA
Attn: GaTAPP Admission
P. O. Box 387
Tennille, Georgia 31089
Elementary Education Alternative Practicum (Elementary Add-On) Program:
Mail to:
Oconee RESA
Attn: GaTAPP Admission
P. O. Box 387
Tennille, Georgia 31089
Oconee RESA has received GaDOE TLSD Grant funding and will pay partial GaTAPP fees for member systems for the 2023-2024 Oconee RESA GaTAPP Program. Oconee RESA is not allowed to use the grant funding for nonmember systems/private schools.
Oconee RESA accepts GaTAPP payments from employing school systems and candidates who wish to pay fees. Repayment policies are at the sole discretion of each individual system. You may contact your Human Resource Director for additional information regarding GaTAPP tuition repayment policies.
Additional Fees - Not included in tuition
Required GACE Content Assessments.
Georgia Assessments for the Certification of Educators
GACE Test Preparation Materials
Georgia Professional Standards Commission
The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA)
The U.S. Department of Education (U.S. DOE)
How to contact GaPSC Certification?
Dorothy Reynolds, GaTAPP Director
dorothy.reynolds@oconeeresa.org
Carolyn Whitaker, GaTAPP Registrar
carolyn.whitaker@oconeeresa.org
Sheila Poole, GaTAPP Assistant
sheila.poole@oconeeresa.org
Holly Hoyal, GaTAPP Supervisor
holly.hoyal@oconeeresa.org