Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter
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CAT Tracks for October 24, 2000
RECERTIFICATION UPDATE |
Most of you have been wondering about the details of the new teacher certification process in Illinois. This is especially true of the 25 members of the CAT whose certificates expired this past June 30th. Specifically: "What do I have to do?" Finally, the basic structure has been finalized and Districts are being told to proceed. Accordingly, a special meeting of the Cairo Board of Education has been called for Wednesday, October 25th, at 6:15 p.m. for the purpose of convening our Local Professional Development Committee--the LPDC. So...hopefully we will be up and running in November.
The IEA held a training session for LPDC members, school administrators and board members last Wednesday night at the Marion Conference Center. Your team of Deborah Hammel, Dorice (De De) O'Shea, Suzan Partridge, and Ron Newell attended the training. The presenter was Dr. Susan Shea (IEA Staff Member, Chief Negotiator for IEA on the recertification process, and acclaimed recertification "GURU"). Although still a work in progress, Dr. Shea was able to provide clarification and insight into what needs to be done immediately to implement the new teacher certification process. Here are some of the highlights:
- The first order of business will be for those teachers whose certificates expired this past June 30th to write a Certificate Renewal Plan (CRP). Normally, the CRP would have to be submitted to the LPDC no later than October 28th of the application year. However, due to the delay in implementation, teachers up for recertification THIS YEAR have until April 30, 2001 to submit a plan. HOWEVER, you must have a CRP approved or pending by January 1, 2001 in order to get credit for professional development activities taken after that date. So...it would be in your best interest to write and file your plan this semester!
- Dr. Shea explained that a "grace period" has been declared from June 30th through December 31st of this year only. Any professional development activities that you complete during this time period CAN be applied toward recertification. (See the "fine print" in the next bullet.) Again...Beginning in January 2001, you must have a CRP approved or pending in order for professional development activities to count. Also, beginning January 2001, you must take professional development activities from an "approved provider", although there are provisions for receiving credit for activities conducted by out-of-state agencies.
- Concerning professional development activities completed from July 1st through December 2000...You must be able to demonstrate that those activities are related to one of your three "Personal Improvement Goals". In other words, when you write your goals, be sure to write them in a manner that your completed activities will relate to and support them--and count! That's putting the proverbial cart before the horse, but it is a result of the delay in implementation. After this year, teachers will be able to plan ahead.
- Teachers whose certificates did NOT expire on June 30, 2000...The deadline for "surrendering" your certificate early is December 31, 2000. Why would you want to do such a thing? If you are currently taking college classes or heavily involved in professional development activities, you might want to go for recertification NOW--so that these things can be counted and you can complete the process early and easier. One or two years from now, you may NOT be involved in these activities. BUT...that's up to you...only you can make that decision.
- If you hold more than one certificate...ONLY WRITE ONE PLAN...That plan is written to cover the certificate/endorsement required of your CURRENT POSITION. (If you change districts, schools, or teaching assignments, you may have to revise your CRP.)
- Speaking of certificates...Only holders of a standard teaching certificate (Type 10) need to file a plan--which is almost all of us. Exceptions would/could be speech specialists, counselors, administrators, etc. HOWEVER: Dr. Shea emphasized that she would advise holders of such certificates to go through the process in order to enhance employability. If such a person does NOT renew their standard teaching certificate, they will NOT be able to teach in a classroom by themselves--a certified teacher would have to be present. Most districts could not afford that luxury!
- Be sure to keep documention of any professional activity completed! Only give the LPDC copies--YOU are responsible for providing documentation--NOT the LPDC! Accordingly, the IEA has provided folders for keeping said documentation. See Deborah, De De, Suzan, or Ron for a folder...and don't lose the folder!!!
- Application for renewal of a certificate is made no sooner than September 1st and no later than March 1st of the final year of the certificate's validity...this is the reason for the emphasis of keeping your documentation safe! You could conceivably write your plan this year and complete the requirements of your plan this year...BUT you cannot apply for renewal until September 1, 2004!
I hope that this synopsis has been informative. Although long, it truly does provide only the highlights. In your handy-dandy IEA folder, you will find a copy of the training slides that provide addtional details. Your folder also contains a copy of the CRP form, an instruction sheet, and sample CRP's. There is additional information pertinent to recertification. And...if that is not enough...you can go to the IEA website and follow links to recertification information that is updated frequently. There you will find the complete Certificate Renewal Manual which includes all forms, samples, and formulas for conversion of CEU's and CPDU's--the basic units of credit that must be completed in order to renew your certificate. The address of the IEA website is www.ieanea.org or you can always go to the CAT website at www.geocities.com/cattracks.geo and find that link as well as others that might interest you.
Good luck to all of you as you venture forth upon uncharted waters. Although it appears a daunting challenge, you CAN get recertified by doing the same things that you have done in the past--you just have to keep documentation to prove how "professional" you are. In fact, many of us may surprise ourselves at how much we actually do to improve ourselves and keep current in our respective fields. And if the "positive approach" doesn't impress you, take comfort in the knowledge that it could have been a whole lot worse. We grumble each year when we see the dues increases, but without the efforts of the IEA in beating back the "opposition"...
