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Adoption Date: 9/1/2012
PRINT INFORMATIONRegulations - Regulations
6213R PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION: 175 HOURS OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT REQUIREMENT
All District employees who hold professional teaching certificates for classroom teaching are required to complete professional development hours to maintain the validity of their certificates. Professional certificate holders must complete 175 hours every five (5) years. The five-year professional development period commences on July 1 after the effective date of the triggering certificate, and each subsequent five-year period thereafter. Each professional development year of the five-year cycle of professional development begins on July 1 and ends the following June 30. The professional development requirement may be completed at any time during the five-year professional development period.
Decisions regarding content, delivery and providers of such professional development are within the purview of the School District and shall be made within the context of the District Professional Development Plan. The Professional Development Plan shall describe how the School District will provide teachers itemploys holding a professional certificate with opportunities to maintain such certificates in good standing based upon successfully completing 175 hours of professional development every five (5) years in accordance with Commissioner's Regulations.
If the professional certificate holder wishes to maintain the validity of his/her New York State professional certificate, he/she must satisfy the professional development requirement. If the certificate holder teaches less than ninety (90) days in a given school year for any reason, including an approved leave, the required hours are reduced by ten percent (10%) for each school year during which this is the case.
District Reporting Responsibilities
Annually, the School District must report to the New York State Education Department (SED) Office of Higher Education's Office of Teaching Initiatives (OTI) the number of all approved professional development hours completed by each teacher who is employed by the District and subject to the professional development requirement, regardless of the professional development provider.
All hours of completed professional development reported by Districts will become part of the certificate holder's certification record maintained by OTI. Teachers with professional certificates must complete the required number of hours of professional development every five (5) years for their certificates to remain valid.
The School District is required to report professional development hours for its employees online directly via the Web-based computer system TEACH (Teacher Education and Certification Help) which may be accessed at: http://www.highered.nysed.gov/tcertl.The TEACH public school training guide is also available on the Web at: http://www.highered.nysed.gov/tcertlteach/resourcesd.htm
Certificate Holder Responsibilities
All professional certificate holders must keep records of all of their approved professional development activities/programs/coursework, regardless of the provider,for at least seven (7) years from the date of completion of the program and shall be available for review by SED. Such records shall include those items enumerated in Commissioner's Regulations Section 80-3.6(f):
1) The title of the program;
2) The number ofhours completed;
3) The sponsor's name and any identifying number;
4) Attendance verification; and
5) The date and location of the program.
While it is the responsibility of the District to report hours,it is in the interest of every professional certificate holder to verify that their professional development hours are reported and that their individual record is complete. Itis recommended that professional certificate holders develop their personal professional development plan in consultation with the District, and obtain District approval before commencing any professional development activities. A suggested (optional) format for planning can be found at Continuing Professional Development District Planning Form (PDF), see website: http://www.highered.nysed.gov/tcert/pdf/pdplanning.pdf
District Recordkeeping Responsibilities
If the School District provides professional development to teachers in its schools,or professional development is provided by other entities on behalf of the District, the District must maintain a record of professional development completed by its teachers who are required to complete this requirement. Such records shall include those items enumerated in Commissioner's Regulations Section 100.2(dd)(5):
1) The name of the professional certificate holder;
2) His/her teacher certification identification number;
3) The title of the program;
4) The number of hours completed; and
5) The date and location of the program.
These records shall be retained by the District for at least seven (7) years from the date of completion of the professional development by the professional certificate holder and shall be available for review by the State Education Department (SED).
Professional certificate holders should check their individual record periodically to verify that the completed hours are being reported by the District at least annually. Questions or discrepancies should be resolved with the District immediately. Certificate holders should not wait until the end of their five-year professional development cycle to resolve any issues. Since the certificate holder is ultimately responsible to maintain his/her certification, he/she will monitor his/her own professional development progress and request, as needed, assistance to fulfill these requirements.
Professional Development Hour
Generally, professional development activity may be considered to accrue according to the number of clock hours spent in the activity, e.g., inservice workshop,conference session, etc. However, the employing School District has the discretion to set the research, attendance at professional meetings, etc. In the case of credit-bearing college courses, Commissioner's Regulations Section 80-3.6(e) stipulates that each semester hour of credit is equal to fifteen (15) hours of professional development, and each quarter hour of credit is equal to ten (10) hours of professional development.
Suggested Professional Development Activities
Content of courses, workshops, and other professional development experiences should be directly related to:
1) Enhancing teacher subject matter knowledge,
2) Teacher knowledge, use and application of appropriate teaching techniques,
3) Broadening and enhancing teacher abilities to apply more accurate and appropriate assessment methodologies, and
4) Enhancing teacher skills in effectively managing individual students and classroom in both heterogeneous and homogeneous settings.
The following categories of activities are suggestions for meeting the needs of the District in building teacher capacity:
1) Participating in courses and other learning opportunities delivered from many providers, such as institutions of higher education, teacher centers, BOCES, school districts and independent professional development service providers.
2) Coursework linked to improvement of instructional technique or content knowledge,which may/or may not be in pursuit of a teaching or advanced teaching degree.
3) Completing coursework for more advanced certification or certificates in additional areas or in accordance with teaching assignment requirement for extension to certification.
4) Collaborating with other teachers and teaching assistants to examine case studies of student work and development.
5) Participating in regional scoring of State assessments, assessing student portfolios.
6) Creating and assessing teacher or teaching assistant portfolios.
7) Providing Mentoring Service.
8) Engaging in research projects (includes online research).
9) Participation in study (collegial) circles such as "Critical Friends" activities, structured guided reflection activities focused on student learning.
10) Participating in formal programs of peer coaching or participation in peer review.
11) Curriculum planning and development.
12) Pursuing National Board certification or re-certification (either as candidate or provider of support).
13) Sabbaticals (related to content specialty or enhancement of teaching strategies).
14) Participating in reviews of class performance data over time to make decisions about one's own professional development, based on student outcomes.
15) Developing or collaborating on the development of new programs and instructional methods.
16) Teacher of the Year activities.
17) New York State Teacher Certification Examinations (NYSTCE) "assessor" or test development committee member.
18) Delivering professional development (e.g., conducting workshops).
19) Development of Statewide curriculum.
20) Service as support teacher, helping teacher, or coach.
21) Service as a cooperating teacher for a student teacher or field internships; including attendant meetings and processes.
22) Service as an elected officer in professional organizations.
23) Service as teacher center director.
24) Service/designation as Master Teacher.
25) Service on the State Professional Standards and Practices Board.
26) Participating in Professional Development School activities or other school-college teacher development partnerships.
27) Publishing in educational/journals.
28) Developing and presenting a major paper.
29) Serving on Comprehensive District Education Plan (CDEP) or District Comprehensive
Education Plan (DCEP), or School Leadership committees
| Acceptable Activities | Hours Earned |
| Approved District, WRC and BOCES workshops | As per hours attended |
| Participation in faculty, grade-level and department meetings | As per hours attended |
| Curriculum planning and development | Actual hours worked |
| Serving on the EPC committee, WRC or CDEP | Actual hours attended |
| Serving on IST, SST or RTI committees | Actual hours attended |
| Participation in collaborative or regional scoring of State or national assessments | Actual hours of training per supervisor |
| Approved educational leaves (related to content specialty or enhancement of teaching strategies) | To be determined on a case to case basis |
| Participation in team meetings, grade level meetings and collaborative instructional meetings | As per hours attended |
| Participation in a mentoring program as a mentor or mentee | As per hours logged |
| Approved conferences | Actual hours in conference |
| Service as a cooperating teacher for a student teacher or field internship | 10 hours per week |
| Delivering professional development (conducting workshops) | Course hours + 50% for prep |
| Higher Education coursework | One college credit = 15 hours |
| National Board Certification or recertification activity (either as candidate or provider of support) | 175 hours during a five-year period |
| NYSTCE "assessor" or test development committee member | Actual hours served as per supervisor |
| Development of Statewide curriculum | Actual hours served as per supervisor |
| Service as a Board member in professional organizations | 50 hours |
| Service as an elected officer in professional organizations | 50 hours |
| Service on the State Professional Standards and Practices
Board | Actual hours served as per committee chair |
| Publishing in education journals | 15 hours per submission |
| Grant Writing | 15 hours per submission |
| Other activities approved by the District | To be determined on a case to case basis |
| Participating m coursework linked to improvement of
instructional technique or content knowledge, which may or
may not be in pursuit of a teaching or advanced teaching degree | Actual hours attended |
| Completing coursework for more advanced certification or certificates | Actual hours attended |
| Collaborating with other teachers and teaching assistants to examine case studies of student work and development | Actual hours worked |
| Participating in reviews of class performance data over time to make decisions about one's own professional development, based on student outcomes | Actual hours worked |
| Developing or collaborating on the development of new programs and instructional methods | Actual hours worked |
| Serving as Teacher Center Director | Actual hours worked |
| New Teacher Activities (Part I & II) | Actual hours worked |
| Professional Growth Plan (PGP) day hours | Actual hours worked |
| Other activities approved by direct supervisor | Actual hours worked |
Gorham-Middlesex Central School District | 4100 Baldwin Road | Rushville, NY 14544
(585) 554-4848 | Fax: (585) 554-4882