SPRING UPDATES

SPRING 2013 UPDATE

CERTIFICATION

J

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Certification Policy GoalAchieve a system of teacher preparation, certification and ongoing professional development that is aligned and driven by impact/results rather than a series of inputsImpact/results-• Demonstration of knowledge and skills• Research-based professional practice• Student achievement

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CREDENTIAL CHANGES

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Discontinued Certificates:The ability to issue N-3, K-6, Special Education N-12 and Middle Level 7-9 certificates will expire on August 31, 2013• Applications submitted in TIMS by 11:59

p.m. on August 31, 2013 will be evaluated

• No restrictions on existing certificate holders

• Level II certificates will be issued

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Discontinued Certificates:Reminder: (regarding the N-3, K-6, Special Education N-12 and Middle Level 7-9 certificates expiring on August 31, 2013)• Certificates issued will remain valid for

the certification area and grade span for which they were issued

• Intern certificates will remain valid until the expiration date– Conversion to Instructional I required by

8/31/2013, or must meet new certificate requirements

SPRING UPDATESNew Certificates

• Grades Pre K-4 (Subject Code 2825):– Program focus on child development, impact of

family needs, diverse populations– May teach early childhood/elementary content Pre K

through 4th grade

• Grades 4-8th (Subject Code 3100): – Program includes prep in self contained multiple content

areas and one or two content concentrations– May be used to teach self contained multiple content

areas in 4th grade through 6th grade– May be used in areas of the educators’ content

concentrations in departmentalized classrooms 4th through 8th grade

SPRING UPDATESDisplay on Certificates

New “Grades PK-4”

New “Grades 4-8 with Mathematics Concentration”

New “Special Education 7-12”

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New Certificates (cont.)• Special Education Pre K-8 (Subject Code 9226):– Combined Special Education certification with

Pre K-4, 4-8 or Reading Specialist to prep candidate to be highly qualified in subject areas

• Special Education 7-12 (Subject Code 9227)– Combined Special Education certification with

a secondary 7-12 subject area or Reading Specialist

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Adding On a Subject Area• A candidate may “add-on” an instructional

certification area only if he/she already holds an instructional certificate

• The following areas require program completion and MAY NOT be added by testing alone:– Elementary K-6, Early Childhood N-3, Grades

Pre K-4, Grades 4-8, Reading Specialist, Cooperative Education, Health & Physical Education, and all Special Education areas

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Add-On Information

• Go to www.education.state.pa.us• In the upper left corner, under “PDE Search” • Type in “add-on” and select “Go”• The link to the web page will appear in the “PDE Search

Results” section in the center of the page• Other links are available to access this page, however this

process is the fastest

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Certification Tests • As of April 2, 2012, the tests that are now

required for the new certificates are as follows:– Pennsylvania Educator Certification Tests

(Administered by Pearson)• PAPA (Pre-service Academic Performance Assessment)• Pre K-4• Special Education Pre K-8• Special Education 7-12

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Certification Tests

– Grades 4-8 (Administered by ETS)• Generalist Content• Concentration Specialist Test

– Educational Leadership (Administered by ETS)• School Leaders Licensure Assessment• School Superintendent Assessment

SPRING UPDATESTesting Update

• The Educational Specialist credentials require the completion of the• PAPA: Reading, Writing, Mathematics (

www.pa.nesinc.com)• Appropriate content area test (refer to

Testing Requirements on PDE’s website)

SPRING UPDATESCertification Requirement• The Educational Specialist–PAPA required:• Unless the candidate holds: • Another Pennsylvania certificate; OR• A baccalaureate degree; AND• A current and valid Pennsylvania

license as a counselor, dental hygienist, psychologist, registered nurse or social worker

SPRING UPDATESRetain Use of Praxis Tests for

Highly Qualified Purposes• For educators to demonstrate content

mastery in:– Grades K-6 and Pre K-3, PDE will retain

use of Praxis 0511 and the previous Pre K-3 content tests

– Grades 7-9, PDE will retain use of the 7-9 Praxis tests

SPRING UPDATESRetain Use of Praxis Tests for

Highly Qualified Purposes

• After August 2013, these Praxis tests will be applicable only for educators to become highly qualified

• K-6, Pre K-3 or any of the 7-9 middle level content areas cannot be added on to an existing certificate

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Endorsements• Program Endorsement Certificate

– Documents knowledge in new and emerging areas where formal certification does not exist

– Maximum of 12 credits– Added to existing Level I or Level II Certificates– Not required to perform service in these areas

• Endorsements created in 2010– Autism Spectrum Disorders– Instructional Coach

• In process of developing the guidelines for:– Mathematics Coach– Cyber and International Student Teaching

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CERTIFICATION STAFFING AND POLICY GUIDELINES (CSPG) CHANGES

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CSPG #7 Level II Updates• Clarification of required six credits– Initiate the practice of looking for credits

associated with the area(s) of certification and/or designed to improve professional practice

– Administrative, Guidance or Counseling coursework would not qualify, for example

– Would include Standards Aligned System (SAS) and Inclusion

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CSPG #7 Level II Updates (Cont.)• Service time calculation for part-time– Effective 2/1/2013, ½ year of service will be

charged after 70 days of teaching (change from 45 days)

– PDE will accept only 45 days to count for ½ year of service for applicants already in the process of applying for Level II for the remainder of the 2012-13 academic year

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CSPG #7 Level II Updates (Cont.)• Rationale: service-time calculation

for part-time– Determination of six years will be more

accurately assessed and tracked– Addresses induction problems–May extend the time an educator

spends on Level I certificate, but has no adverse impact

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CSPG #7 Level II Updates (Cont.)

Service Time Clarifications• Satisfactory and unsatisfactory service is

counted toward the six years of service• Non-optional service– Added Scotland School and Scranton State

School for the Deaf to non-optional service time

• Calculation of Instructional I and Ed Specialist I based on semesters

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CSPG #7 *Updates (Cont.)Additional Clarifications• Induction program is required for Ed

Specialists• Alien Provisional terminology ended,

non-U.S. Citizen created

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CSPG #18 Revisions• Expanded National Association of

State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification (NASDTEC) Interstate Agreement to include:– Education Specialists– Administrators

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CSPG #18 Certification Changes• Added the statutory language for

out-of-state Instructional candidates who have:– Active valid certificate from another

state– Two years of satisfactory experience

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PROCEDURAL NOTES

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Or on the PDE Website under: Teachers and Teacher Certifications

Certification Status Search (under Quick Links)

• Search by Name, Employer, PPID using % to replace uncertain or variable spellings

• Active application status added to the PPID search in November

Public Website: www.TeacherCertification.PA.gov

Checking Certification and Application Status

Use the Act 48 tools to look up a professional personal ID (PPID)

SPRING UPDATESMonitoring the Application Status

Pending Documentation – the cover sheet and proof items have not been received or scanned into TIMS

Pending Payment – waiting for the cover sheet and money order

Waiting for Educ or Work Exp Verification – waiting for the school employer to verify work experience or preparation program to verify program• Completed verification only ONE time, either electronically (if school

provisioned in TIMS) or via forms (if not provisioned in TIMS)• 338A-Out-of-State Program Verification• 338V-Verification of Work Experience for non-provisioned entities• 338C-In-State Program Verification - should be done electronically• 338P-Level II Experience Verification

Awaiting Evaluation– payment and documents are received and scanned

Review In Progress – application is under review!**Auto emails come from RA-TeacherCert@pa.gov (no reply)

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PDE has identified specific time periods to focus on high volume applications to address critical application backlogs More efficient in the new Teacher Information Management

System (TIMS) Does not affect the submission of applications by

candidates Applications may be submitted at any time Applications will be processed on a first in, first out basis

according to type of application and identified periods Posted on the web under

Teachers, Administrators and Certifications >> Application Processing Status and Application Review Focus Periods

Focus Periods For Application Review

SPRING UPDATESFocus of Application Review Periods

From To Focus of Application ReviewJanuary May Level II applications

o Instructional and Educational Specialist II applications

Letter of Equivalency for Master’s or Bachelor’s (MEQ/BEQ)

Emergency PermitsMay July Instructional, Educational Specialist I and Intern Level I

applications: In-state recommended candidates Candidates without in-state recommendation

July August Emergency PermitsOctober December Level II applications

o Instructional and Educational Specialist II applications

Letter of Equivalency for Master’s or Bachelor’s (MEQ/BEQ)

December January Level I applications:o Instructional, Educational Specialist I and Intern

applications In-state prepared candidates Out-of-state prepared candidates

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• Emergency permit applications may be submitted now for the 2013-14 school year

• The dashboard will change to the new year in July– Permits do not show on the dashboard when the permit

year is different from the dashboard year– Permits from other years (past and future) may be

viewed using the Permit Search feature

• Subsidy billing was emailed in May for the 2011-12 year

Permit Updates

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• Who must submit a permit request through TIMS every year?– Good moral character (GMC) applicants – Non-U.S. Citizens (Note: applicants must

correct citizenship – especially if “Unknown/Other”)

• Send copies for 06 Day-to-Day substitute audit documentation

• Do NOT send money orders for 06 audits

Permit Reminders

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Survey of Prep Program• Completed by Pennsylvania preparation program

candidates applying for certification in TIMS

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Questions?For more information on Certification please visit PDE’s website at ww.education.state.pa.us

The mission of the department is to academically prepare children and adults to succeed as productive citizens. The

department seeks to ensure that the technical support, resources and opportunities are in place for all students,

whether children or adults, to receive a high quality education.