Educator Accountability (teachers, specialists and paraprofessionals )
Last updated February 1, 2012
DoE has asked the teacher and specialist volunteers working on multiples measures of student growth for their discipline to continue their work into 2012. If you would like to volunteer, and join your area's group, please contact DSEA's Debbie Stevens.
DPAS II information and updates as of Jan. 31, 2012
Center for Teacher Quality - full of resources, research on various teacher quality topics
Educational Testing Service, creators of Praxis I, II and ParaPro certification tests
Praxis Prep Info, an information site for soon-to-be teachers looking for help with the Praxis exams required for certification to teach in Delaware and most other states. This site, administered by the Graduate Education Information Service (GEIS), offers tips, a complete Praxis I practice test and hundreds of Praxis II questions.
New cluster payments, national board certifications, skills and knowledge supplements, all suspended for 08-09 and 09-10 and 10-11, and 11-12.
Everything you need to know about: Relicensure as a teacher/specialist
Delaware Professional Standards Board
To see the Delaware Code related to Educator licensing, certification, evaluation
and professional development,
click here.
DEEDS web site for
teachers, specialists and instructional paraprofessionals established by the
Department of Education to provide an online certification/qualification depository.
Documents available:
Paras: what you need to know about being
Highly Qualified
All Paras in Delaware
are now issued a PERMIT to allow you to keep track of and recognize
your professional development accomplishments.
Click here for information
about how the so-called No Child Left Behind Act affects Title I paras.
90 clock-hour activity documentation
form (needed for teacher/specialist recertification)
Just what are the
Delaware Professional Teaching Standards ? (June 03)
Click here for a primer on ESEA of 2001 (No Child Left Behind Act), including
a flow chart to determine if you are a "highly qualified" teacher
List
of approved Skills and Knowledge salary supplement clusters
Moratorium on new skills & knowledge payments and national board certification supplements to continue for 10-11
The moratorium/suspension of payments for any new cluster completions or new national board certifications or new skills/knowledge payments continues, not put back in the state's budget for Fiscal Year 2011. We expect the moratorium will continue for FY2012.
Questions? Please contact Debbie Stevens, DSEA's director of instructional advocacy by e-mail or by phone toll-free at 1-866-734-5834.
Relicensure in Delaware: how it works
If you have a license from the state not issued by the Department of Education
- such as a speech pathologist - then the following relicensure
requirments do not apply to you. You have your own professional recertification
requirements. You must follow them to be licensed to practice in a school. We have represented several speech pathologists who thought they didn't need to keep their license active if they practiced in schools. Such is not the can!
School nurses can use the professional development taken to keep certified
as Registered Nurses to satisfy their DoE recertification requirements.
What's the difference between a license and a certificate?
Your license is the basic credential that authorizes an educator to practice.
A certificate is an additional credential that specifies in what areas an educator
is qualified to practice.
Your Continuing License is good for five years and requires that you accumulate
90 clock hours of professional development every five years to renew it.
As for newly hired educators, they will receive a three-year Initial License
which requires successful mentoring and evaluation in order for them to receive
a Continuing License after those first three years.
Educators who hold a certificate from the National Board of Professional Teaching
Standards are eligible for an Advanced License which is good for ten years.
These regulations were approved by the State Board of Education in August
2002.
What the regs say is that the 90 clock hours must be completed during the
five year term of the license.
At least one-half of the required hours for educators must be in activities
that relate to the educator's work with students or staff. All activities must
relate to the
Delaware Professional Teaching Standards or Delaware Administrator Standards.
How/where do I submit proof of my 90 clock hours?
1. Keep a folder and make sure you have a completed, signed
activity documentation form or other proof for each activity.
2. You must also record your hours on your DEEDS (Delaware Educator
Data System) profile. To do that, first register on that site by clicking here:
DEEDS . Then
click on "Retrieve password" at the right of the screen and fill in the requested
information. Once you get the cumbersome system-generated password, you will
be able to change it to something easier to remember.
You will also see "Clock Hours (Continuing Licensees)" under "Maintaining Your
Credential" on the right side of the screen. If you click there and then log
in, you can access "Input/Print Clock Hour Activities." Here's where you record
your activities.
DEEDS will update the lists of completed activities and total the hours.
The system will not record more than 90 clock hours for a renewal. And no, extra
hours cannot be carried over to your next renewal.
3. When you have completed and recorded 90 clock hours, print-out of
that record and then have your signature notarized.
4. Submit that signed, notarized print-out to your Personnel Office with
the paper records (activity documentation forms, certificates, letters, grade
reports, a product - whatever your activity results in) no later than 30
days prior to the expiration date of your five years.
We strongly suggest you make a copy of those original paper records before you
submit them since they are the proof.
5. Your district personnel will verify that your documentation matches
your record of hours and then will submit your signed application to the Dept.
of Education. DoE will then issue you a Continuing License valid for the next
five years.... and you start earning an additional 90 clock hours of professional
development during that time.
Sounds like lots of record keeping.
It is. As with all record keeping, we strongly advise that you keep up with
it. Keep your own records and evidence of completion of your activities. Don't
count on the provider or your district to do that. They probably won't.
Will the DEEDS system email me before my license expires?
Yes, this system will automatically e-mail you 24 and 12 months before your
continuing license is set to expire so that you have time to accumulate any
remaining clock hours that you need.
When using DEEDS, is there a way to tell who has looked at my information?
No. Only the people who currently has access to certification records - the
district personnel officer and the DoE certification staff - will have passwords
to get to your records. The public cannot see your detailed records, althugh
the public will be able to search another section of DEEDS by your name and
see what license and certification(s) you hold. This is now required by federal
law (ESEA).
How can I earn the 90 clock hours? What qualifies?
You may select from a variety of professional development options. There are
15 ways to accumulate the 90 clock hours:
college credit; clusters and skills & knowledge; professional conference
or workshop; mentoring; being a cooperating teacher/intern supervisor; making
a presentation; an educational project; curriculum/assessment development; educational
travel; professional programs or committees; peer coaching; publishing; professional
portfolio (parameters yet to be developed); NBPTS certification; and/or formal
study groups.
| OPTION | MAX. HOURS | HOUR VALUE | VERIFICATION | CRITERIA |
| College Credit | No limit | 1 semester hour = 15 clock hours. 1 quarter hr./CEU = 10 clock hours. |
Official Transcripts. Original Grade Slips. Original Certificate of Completion for CEUs. | Must be completed at a regionally accredited college. Must be taken for credit with grade of "C" or better or a "P" in pass/fail course. |
| Clusters of skills & knowledge. Planned school Prof. Dev. Day if activities are part of Approved Cluster |
No limit No limit |
Verified clock hours in completion of cluster activities. Vertified clock hours Actively involved in prof. development activities |
Approval Slip or Form Verifying Completion. Certification of attendance provided by school district or school sponsoring the professional development. |
Cluster must be prior-approved by Professional Development & Associated
Compensation Committee, the Professional Standards Board and the State Board
of Education Must focus on district or school-identified curriculum, instruction, assessment, school climate, or other need identified in district or school improvement plan. |
| Professional Conference/ Workshop/ Institute or Academy | 30 clock hours per year 45 clock hours per cycle |
Verified clock hours actively involved in workshop or conference sessions | Original Certificate of Attendance or Completion OR Letter from Supervisor/Conference
Staff. Copies/ Exhibits of products developed by Applicant. Course Attendance Slip |
Must include only time spent in those portions of the workshop or conference program that contribute to the participant's knowledge, competence, performance, or effectiveness in education. Includes workshops offered by districts or other employing authorities either as part of professional development day or after school hours. |
| Mentoring | 30 per year 45 per cycle |
Verified clock hours involved in mentoring activities | Activity Documentation Form. (No prior approval required) |
Must be mentoring of teacher, administrator, or specialist. Must be part of a formal state/local program. |
| Cooperating Teacher/ Intern Supervisor | 30 per year 45 per cycle |
Verified clock hours involved in support of student teacher or intern | Activity Documentation Form completed by higher education director of
field-based clinical studies. (No prior approval required) |
Must be supervision of graduate or undergraduate intern or student teacher in a state-approved educator preparation program. |
| Presentation | 10 per 3 clock hour course; 30 per longer course; 45 per cycle |
Verified clock hours preparing and presenting | Activity Documentation Form* (Prior approval required) |
Must include only actual time preparing and presenting a course, workshop, or presentation. (Clock hours limited to first preparation and presentation of individual course, workshop, or presentation.) |
| Educational Project | 30 per year 45 per cycle |
Verified clock hours completing project. Minimum of 15 clock hours |
Activity Documentation Form* (Prior approval required) |
Project must have been prior approved by the Professional Development
& Associated Compensation Committee. Must have obtained final approval after completion and verification by PDAC |
| Curriculum/ Assessment Development | 30 per year 45 per cycle |
Verified clock hours of service; Minimum of 3 clock hours | Original documentation from committee chair verifying actual clock hours of participation | Must be service on formal committee organized by local, state, national, or international education agency or organization. |
| Educational Travel | 3 per day 30 per cycle |
Verified clock hours of experience. Minimum of 15 clock hours per travel activity. Final Project. | Activity Documentation Form* (Prior approval required) |
Must be prior approved by Professional Development & Associated Compensation
Committee . Must have obtained final approval after completion and verification by PDAC. |
| Professional Programs/ Committees | 30 per year 45 per cycle |
Verified clock hours of service or experience. | Original documentation from committee chair or activity leader verifying actual clock hours of participation. | Must be a formal activity provided through a recognized local, state, national, or international education agency or organization |
| Peer Coaching | 30 per year 45 per cycle |
Verified clock hours of service or experience. | Activity Documentation Form. (No prior approval required) |
Must be part of a formal program. |
| Publication | 30 per year 45 per cycle |
30 clock hours for book. Up to 15 clock hours per other publication. |
Copy of Publication or Document. | Must contribute to the education profession or add to the body of knowledge
in the individual's specific field. Must be commercially published or a formally approved document or formally published in a medium sanctioned by a recognized state or national agency or organization. If a grant, must be approved for funding. |
| Professional Portfolio (to be developed by Professional Standards Board). | 30 per year 45 per cycle |
45 clock hours for completed and approved portfolio. | The Completed/Approved Portfolio. | Must satisfy the standards established for teaching portfolios. Must be submitted to DOE by December 31 of the final year of the certificate for assessment and approval. |
| NBPTS Certification or similar National Certification | 30 per year 45 per cycle |
45 clock hours for attaining national certification Not complete: verified clock hours completing portfolio activities. |
A Valid Copy of the National Certificate. For candidate not completing certificate --- Activity Documentation Form. (No prior approval required) |
Holds a certificate indicated by NBPTS as related to an individuals work
or assignment. Certificate or participation as a candidate must be completed and verified by the expiration date of the Delaware certificate. |
| Formal Study Groups | 30 per year 45 per cycle |
Verified clock hours working as a member of a study group. | Activity Documentation Form and The Product of the Study.* (Prior approval required) |
Must relate to the individuals work or assignment. Must include a product. |
How do I document the hours?
To be documented for clock hours, activities must meet the criteria set forth
in the regulations and must be appropriately
verified and applied for. Activities requiring prior approval must be approved
by the educator's immediate superivisor. Professional development activities
that are part of DPAS II (Delaware Performance Appraisal System II) training,
when it is implemented statewide which could be in 2007-08, may be used to satisfy
this requirement.
How do I know if the hours I chose will be approved? What do I need to
submit for approval of the 90 hours?
1. The activity enhances the knowledge and skills in your job or
contributes to your school or profession.
2. The activity meets one of the relicensure options.
3. The activity addresses one of the standards for the educator's area of the
profession.
4. The activity is completed during the term of the educator's current continuing
license.
5. The activity addresses specific Professional Teaching or Administrator Standards.
6. Participation in, or completion of, the activity can be documented.
The Re-Licensure Application,
Activity Documentation Form , and, where required, original or official
documents are to be used to verify activities for renewal of a continuing license.
Official transcripts or original grade slips are required documentation for
successful completion of college courses.
If you change positions (grade levels, content areas, areas of supervisory
responsibility, etc.) during the five-year term of your continuing license,
clock hours documented must have been appropriate to your position at the time
the clock hours were completed.
Is there are official DoE form to document activities?
There is an acceptable form on the DEEDS web site. The supervisor of
each activity is responsible for providing documentation for participants. Acceptable
examples include a certificate, a letter, an agenda or program including the
supervisor's name as a presenter.
DSEA's form, which you can copy here, is acceptable.
When prior approval is needed, who gives the approval?
Your immediate supervisor (principal in most cases), or the supervisor
of the activity. The exact process might vary from district to district.
What about National Board certification? Isn't that certificate good for
ten years in Delaware?
Yes. You are eligible for a ten-year license if you have received a
National Board certification.
Send an approved application form to the Dept. of Education with your verification
of national board certification.
If you provide evidence of renewal from the National Board, your certification
will be renewed for another ten years. Again, an application and evidence must
be submitted to the Dept. of Education.
You may take a leave of absence up to three years with no effect upon the validity
or expiration of this license.
You must disclose any criminal conviction history upon application.
If you do not intend to renew your national board license, then you need to accumulate 90 clock hours before the Advanced License expires, and you would then return to a Continuing License.
Can the credits I earn for recertification also be used for another purpose,
such as additional salary?
Yes. And graduate level credits which are part of a matriculated program
may be used for salary advancement as well as recertification. And clock hours
earned as part of a Skills & Knowledge cluster for additional salary may
also be used towards your 90 clock hours.
What happens to my current certificates under this system?
ALL of your current certificates will be listed on your Continuing License.
All are valid, even if they are not currently active. And, refresher coursework
is no longer required to keep them active, just the 90 clock hours of professional
development every five years.
I received a letter from DoE saying that my certificate has expired and
my five years have begun. I thought I still had several years before my certificate
expires!?
The Department of Education is looking at all of your certificates to find the
one which expires first. That is the one which determines when your five year
cycle begins.... even if you're not teaching under that particular certificate.
Can I have one of my certificates NOT listed if, for example, I no longer
want to teach in that area?
No, not unless you want to do it permanently. This is not advised since
if you ever want it back, you will need to meet the most recent requirement
for that area of certification. At this time, there is no official procedure
at DoE to enable a deletion to happen.
Does Association work count?
In some cases, yes. One of the 15 categories is Professional Programs/Committees.
It must be a formal activity provided through a recognized loal, state, national
or international education agency or organization. You may earn up to 30 hours
per year and up to 45 hours per five-year cycle for such activity.
So, if you are a member of your local or DSEA Executive Board; a member of a
working committee or Task Force, you may ask your Association to verify your
hours. DoE has said officially that:
DSEA and local Association work counts if it meets the criteria outline in
the Guidelines and is Professional Development.
Will hours of professional development during district professional development
days during the school year count for relicensure? How about Teacher-to-Teacher
Cadre, Reading Cadre and similar groups' professional development during the
school year?
Yes, if the activities meet the criteria outlined in the Guidelines
and they are documented.
I'm not sure when my certificate expires. How do I find out?
Check your personal or personnel records for the expiration date of your active
certificate, as well as any additional certificates you have.
Compensation
How do we move over on the salary scale to increase our earnings? What
kind of credits qualify?
Matriculated graduate credits can be used for that purpose, as well as
through a "course of study" which may include undergraduate courses in your
content area. Movement beyond the bachelors lane can happen with credits towards
a masters degree; and movement beyond the masters degree lane can be earned
with approved graduate-level credits or credits toward a doctorate or second
masters degree or undergraduate courses if the courses are in a specific content
and do not include pedagogy. A list of such approved courses are to be posted
on the Dept. of Educations
DEEDS web site.
The Professional Standards Board and the State Board of Education accept
proposals from organizations and companies desiring to offer clusters.To see
the list of approved Skills and Knowledge salary supplement clusters,
click here .
The extra salary supplements for completing a Skills and Knowledge cluster is
designed - in theory - to help offset the use of inservice credit - which no
longer qualifies - for base salary increases.
Currently, qualified lead mentors receive $1,500 and mentors
receive $750.
National Board-certified teachers received 12% of their state salary for the
duration of their certification.
Speech and hearing specialists who have achieved national
certification receive a 6% salary increase.
Other nationally-certified specialists receive a 2% salary increase.
The 15% cap on salary earned from clusters and responsibility supplements is waived for teachers with National Board Certification who also work as mentors or lead mentors.
| Your current degree | Your options for earning salary supplements |
| If you have a bachelor's degree... | * Matriculated graduate credits earned toward a master's degree * Professional Development Cluster * Responsibility supplement, such as new teacher mentoring |
| If you have a master's degree... | * Graduate-level course of study NOTE: May include undergraduate courses if the courses are in a specific content area and do not include pedagogy. * Matriculated graduate credits earned toward a second master's degree * Matriculated graduate credits earned toward a doctorate degree * Professional Development Cluster * Responsibility supplement, such as new teacher mentoring |
| If you have a doctorate degree... | * Professional Development Cluster * Responsibility supplement, such as new teacher mentoring |
Does an advanced online degree qualify for salary credit in Delaware?
There is nothing in Delaware law which prevents you from getting salary
credit for an advanced degree which you earned online or through some form of
distance learning. The only stipulation is that it be approved by your district
and be from an accredited institution. In fact, according to DoE staff, when
the paperwork for your degree arrives at DoE, there is normally no indication
how the degree credits were earned.
Professional Standards Board
Who is on the Professional Standards Board?
You can find the list of people (the plurality of whom are teachers, by law); their
email addresses; when and where the PBS meets; what the agenda is for their
upcoming meeting, and more - at
their web site. Their meetings are open to the public and they welcome
your opinions on matters relating to teacher and administrator licensing, recertification,
induction, mentoring, evaluation and on-going professional development.
They must report quarterly to the Governor, the State Board of Education and the General Assembly about their work. Their scope has been limited to licensure, certification and professional development. DoE now has regulatory authority for teacher retention, recruitment, preparation as well as evaluation.
