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Educator Effectiveness
Christen Sikes, Educator Effectiveness Coordinator, csikes@acpsd.net
Lou Wakefield, HR Associate, lwakefield@acpsd.net
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4.0 Training
Orientation
Anyone new to ACPSD or up for renewal, must undergo 4.0 Orientation.
Evaluator Training
Needed for anyone to serve on an evaluation team (i.e. Principals, Assistant Principals, and Peer Evaluators).
Requirements: Must hold a professional certificate with at least 3 years of teaching experience
Must be recommended by your principal.
April 1-3, 2024
Train the Trainer
Requirements: Must hold a professional certificate, must have completed the 4.0 Evaluator Training and passed the exam to become Evaluator certified
Please reach out to Christen Sikes, csikes@acpsd.net, for information regarding 4.0 Evaluator Train the Trainer.
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CERRA Mentor Training
Mentor Training
Requirements: Must hold a professional certificate with at least 3 years of teaching experience
Must be recommended by your principal.
April 4-5, 2024
Train the Trainer
Requirements: Must hold a professional certificate, completed the CERRA Mentor training, served as a mentor at least one year
Please reach out to Christen Sikes, csikes@acpsd.net, for information regarding CERRA Mentor Train the Trainer.
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Special Areas Training
Special Areas: School Counselors, School Librarians, Speech Language Pathologists
Administrators or Peer Evaluators (must be certified in one of the areas above) that will evaluate a School Counselor, School Librarian, and/or a Speech Language Pathologist must be Special Areas Evaluator trained which is a self-paced training.
Steps to become trained:
1) You must first create an account .
2) Reach out to Christen Sikes, csikes@acpsd.net, informing her that you have created an account so that she can add you to the appropriate training.
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SC Lead Resources
SC Lead will be used to complete formal evaluations and SLO/GBE/TLG's.
Logging In OR Creating an Account
Please reach out to SC Lead support for log-in issues.
(877) 314-1412
SC Lead Directions
The 3 steps below must be completed first in order for the Goals task to open:
Step 1: Evaluator must create Evaluation Teams
Step 2: Evaluator must complete Orientation date. The orientation task MUST be completed by the evaluator before the educator can complete any other tasks in SC Lead. Otherwise, the educator will get an Access Denied error message.
Step 3: Educator must complete Orientation signature.
Directions for Goals, Observations, Professionalism, and Self Reflection:
Educator Student Growth (SLO/GBE/TLG)
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SLO, GBE, TLG Resources
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Special Areas: School Counselors, School Librarians, and Speech Language Pathologists
Special Areas Training: Administrators and peer evaluators certified in one of the areas must be trained to evaluate a School Counselor, School Librarian, and SLP. Anyone trained can also lead the orientation for new to district teachers and educators up for renewal. Please reach out to Christen Sikes, csikes@acpsd.net, to register for the Special Areas self-paced training.
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How do I apply for SC Teaching Licensure?
You must apply for a South Carolina educator certificate through the South Carolina State Department of Education.
To apply for South Carolina educator certification, the applicant must complete the following steps:
- Create a user account and submit an application through prior to all other steps.
- Pay the application fee through .
- Complete the . Specific instructions for completing the fingerprinting process are available to an applicant through the Educator Portal only after the application for certification is submitted.
- Submit from all regionally accredited colleges and universities where a degree, undergraduate or graduate coursework, or an educator preparation program was completed.
- Submit for any teaching experience completed after conferral of a bachelor's degree.
- Complete any requirements for the specific certification pathway.
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What is reciprocity?
Reciprocity is the process in which the SCDE accepts valid, standard certificates or licenses issued by the credentialing authority of another US state, the District of Columbia, and the Department of Defense Education Authority (DoDEA).
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Where do I submit my Praxis scores and transcripts?
You must submit all scores and transcripts to the South Carolina Department of Education. Aiken County Public Schools does not file scores or transcripts. Your eligibilty for hire and pay depends on your teaching certificate issued by the South Carolina Department of Education.
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How do I add a Certification Field or Endorsement?
There are several methods for adding a new field to an existing initial or professional certificate.
Please refer to the SCDE website:
The shows the options for adding certification fields by program, coursework, and exam.
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How do I renew my certificate?
RENEW A PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATE
An educator who has advanced to a Professional certificate must earn 120 renewal credits during that five-year period to renew the certificate. Please refer to the SCDE for more information on
Resources:
Recertification Renewal Computation Sheet
EXPIRED CERTIFICATES
Professional educator certificates remain eligible for renewal up to ten (10) school years beyond their expiration. If a professional certificate has been expired for ten (10) school years or more, the educator must either reapply for an Initial certificate under the current requirements, or the educator must satisfy current reciprocity requirements.
RENEWAL REQUIREMENTS
In addition to earning 120 renewal credits within a given renewal period, educators may also be required to meet the following criteria in order to renew their professional certificate:
Graduate Course Requirement
Any educator who has not earned a Master's Degree must earn at least sixty of the required renewal credits (three semester hours) in graduate-level coursework to renew his or her current certificate. Educators who hold Career and Technology Education Work-Based Certificate exclusively are not required to fulfill the graduate-level coursework requirement.Read to Succeed (R2S) Endorsements
Educators holding professional certification expiring in 2020 and beyond are currently required to earn the appropriate R2S endorsement to be eligible for further certification renewals. All coursework that is accepted for meeting R2S endorsement requirements is also pre-approved for meeting renewal requirements.Please review our for additional information.
Jason Flatt Act
Educators working in a public middle or high school setting must satisfy the Jason Flatt Act requirements before their professional certificate can be renewed. Educators may complete this requirement by visiting the , signing up for the free professional development series, and completing the Mental Health Issues Surrounding Suicidal Ideation (Module 2) training.Please review the and contact your District Renewal Coordinator for more information.
The following providers offer coursework that meet the requirements of either Option 1 or 2 in the renewal credit matrix:
(Only PBS TeacherLine' Southeast's facilitated courses are pre-approved by our office, not the self-paced courses.)
Please reach out to Lou Wakefield, lwakefield@acpsd.net, regarding information on renewing your professional certificate.
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Induction
23-24 Lead Mentors
Veteran Observation RequirementInduction Teachers are required to complete 2 veteran teacher observations this year, one in the Fall and one in the Spring.Please submit your observations using the Microsoft Form below:(Due December 19th)Spring (Due May 24)This is the hard copy of the form you will use during the observation before entering your data into the Microsoft form linked above.The scores are from the . -
Mentors
Thank you for serving as a mentor! Below, you will find required forms and resources.
Start with knowing your responsiblities!
Mentor Required Forms:
School Orientation Documentation (Due Aug 15)
Mentor Time Sheet (Due Dec 1 or April 30)
Mentor Resources:
Coaching Dialogue Protocol (Preconference)
Coaching Dialogue Protocol (Postconference)
Teacher Observation Form (Use for POP cycle with your Mentee.)
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National Board
If a South Carolina NBPTS educator chooses to renew his or her SC professional educator's certificate instead of the NBPTS certificate at the end of the active validity date, the educator will follow SC's Renewal Credit Plan. If the educator is employed in a SC public school district, the NBPTS educator will work through the district's system to renew the SC professional educator's certificate. If the NBPTS educator is not employed in a SC public school system, he or she will work through the SCDE- Office of Educator Certification to renew his or her SC professional educator's certificate.
Notice
All renewal work for a NBPTS educator who is renewing the SC professional educator's certification (instead of the NBPTS certificate) must be completed during the last five years of the ten year validity of the NBPTS certification. Under the Renewal Credit Plan, any educator who does not hold a master's degree must earn one half of their renewal credit (60 credits) in graduate level coursework.Resources
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National Board/ACPSD Co-hort
NATIONAL BOARD-CERTIFIED TEACHERS COHORT SIGN UP
Ï㽶ӰÊÓ has partnered with the Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement (CERRA) to provide support for teachers interested in completing the National Board process. If there is enough interest, CERRA will provide facilitators to guide the participants through the certification process over the next two years. Participants will complete Components 2 and 4 next year and Components 1 and 3 the following year. There will be approximately ten meetings each year. Participants are expected to attend all meetings and complete the work according to the timeline so that they will be ready to submit their work to the National Board during the submission window. If you are interested in being a participant, please use this to sign up for the cohort. More information will be shared with those who sign up before the end of the school year. Please reach out to Christen Sikes, Educator Effectiveness Coordinator, at csikes@acpsd.net, with any questions.
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Pathways to Teaching
Click here for an overview of pathways to teaching.
Alternative Certification Pathways
This chart provides information on the Alternative Pathways to Teaching options in South Carolina.
To find out more information about each, please refer to the .
Degree Options
American College of Education (ACE)
has varied opportunities for Bachelors, Masters, and Doctoral Degree Programs and is offering scholarships and tuition discounts just for ACPSD employees and their families. It is FREE to apply, and courses are taken one at a time with no designated class times. There are 25 seats available for each cohort’s start date, and the deadline to apply is 14 days before class starts. Contact our Region Representative, Zach Riccardelli, at Zach.Riccardelli@gcu.edu for more information and upcoming cohorts.
Grow Your Own I FREE Master's Degree
If you have a bachelor’s degree and are interested in becoming a teacher, a new opportunity is available that allows you to do so quickly and at no cost. You can earn a free master’s degree in teaching through Clemson University or The Citadel, which also secures employment in our school district–all while you complete the degree that will guarantee higher pay upon graduation. The programs will begin in Spring 2024.
Clemson Information HERE
The Citadel Information HERE
Please reach out to at CSikes@acpsd.net, if you are interested in this opportunity.
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Praxis Test Prep
PLT Workshop:
Dr. Stowe leads a free 4 hour workshop hosted in-person at the ACPSD District Office, 1000 Brookhaven Drive, Aiken. The workshop is for all educators that are required to take a pass the PLT as a condition to move to a professional certificate.
Praxis Prep Resources:
Praxis Test Review Opportunities
- Study.com
- thousands of practice questions, 8,000+ test prep video lessons, 70+ study guides
- Try an account for free for 30 days.
- Teachers Test Prep
- Free online Praxis practice test
- 240 Tutoring
- Free practice tests
- Khan Academy
- Free skills prep and questions
- Mometrix
- Study Guides, online course, flashcards, Free Practice tests
- Study.com
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Professional Learning Library
The Professional Learning Library (PLL) is a library of resources that provides opportunities for personalized professional development for educators and administrators.
This will take you to the SCDE website with information on how to access PLL, training slides, and resources to implement into your school.
Resources:
- (Slides)
- (Recording 1 – 6/29/23)
- (Recording 2 – 7/5/23)
Kick-Off-Kit:
- Presentation Template: force-copy, editable—schools may customize this presentation to add local dates/contact information/etc.
- (optional resource) presentation script
- printable resource featuring targeted learning paths for Aiken County Public Schools
- how to use online courses for blended/face-to-face PD
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Performance Improvement Plans (PIP)