3120C - ALTERNATIVE CERTIFICATION PROGRAM PURPOSE
The District is committed to providing a high quality work force in order to fulfill our mission: to serve every student with excellence as the standard. The Alternative Certification Program (ACP) is one component of Goal 3 of the District's strategic plan: By 2006, the District will have managed projected work force shortages by recruiting, employing, and retaining high quality employees. The ACP is a competency-based program designed to expand the pool of educators to include non-education majors committed to making a positive impact on student achievement.
District staff members have designed this ACP in accordance with F.S. 1012.56(7)(a).
By July 1, 2002, the Department of Education shall develop and each School District must provide a cohesive competency-based preparation program by which members of a School District’s instructional staff may satisfy the mastery of professional preparation and education competence requirements specified in rules of the State Board of Education. Participants must be eligible for a State- issued temporary certificate.
The program includes the following required components:
A minimum period of initial preparation prior to assuming duties as the teacher of record.
An option for collaboration between school districts and other supporting agencies for implementation.
Experienced peer mentors.
An assessment that provides for:
An initial evaluation of each educator’s competencies to determine an appropriate individualized professional development plan.
A post-evaluation to assure successful completion of the program.
Content knowledge that includes, but is not limited to, the following
Requirements specified in State Board rule for professional preparation.
The Educator Accomplished Practices approved by the State Board.
A variety of data indicators for student progress.
Methodologies, including technology-based methodologies, for teaching subject content that support the Sunshine State Standards for students.
Techniques for effective classroom management.
Techniques and strategies for assuring a safe learning environment for students.
Methodologies for assuring the ability of all students to read, write, and compute.
Required achievement of passing scores on the professional education competency examination required by State Board rule; currently it is required that candidates pass all sections of the CLAST within the first year of the temporary certificate validity period.
Program participation
The ACP is designed to offer non-education majors, who hold at least a bachelor’s degree in a subject for which a professional certificate may be issued or has met the specialization requirements for certification in a specific area, the opportunity to be trained as an educator. After ACP completion, the candidate may seek a professional certificate from the Florida Department of Education.
The District's ACP is a three (3) part program that includes demonstration of the Pre-professional Level of the twelve (12) Accomplished Practices for Educators; teaching experience with the support of a trained ACP Mentor Support Team; and professional development modules designed to provide participants with quality training experiences.
Qualifications
In order to qualify for the District's ACP, an applicant must meet all of the following requirements:
Be a paid instructional employee of the Brevard County Public Schools in a teaching assignment that does not vary from day to day and is at least a half-time job.
Hold or be eligible for a temporary teaching certificate from the Florida Department of Education.
Hold at least a bachelor’s degree, meet the subject area requirements in a secondary subject area for which a professional certificate may be issued, and be certified for the teaching assignment.
Obtain the signature of the employing principal on the ACP Application as agreement to coordinate the ACP on site.
Sign the ACP application as an agreement of participation.
Note: Current District instructional employees who are non-education majors may be interviewed for placement in the ACP if appropriate.
Program Procedures
Candidates for the program obtain from Human Resources and complete an ACP Application Packet for review by the ACP Records Review committee. The signature of the candidate verifies that s/he agrees to participate under the rules of the ACP. The Records Review Committee identifies candidates who are eligible for hire at school sites and notifies candidates of their eligibility status; they also provide school principals a list of ACP – approved applicants who are eligible for hire.
When a principal hires an eligible candidate for the ACP, the candidate obtains the signature of the supervising principal as agreement that the principal will coordinate the ACP on site. The completed application is forwarded to the Office of Staff Development.
The Office of Staff Development forwards the ACP Portfolio to the hiring principal who coordinates the program on site.
The Office of Staff Development provides information to the participant, registers him/her for the Intensive Preparation Component of the ACP, and coordinates the Accomplished Practices Interview process which results in the baseline Professional Development Plan (PDP) for the candidate. The ACP participant is assigned a peer mentor, who will assist him/her on site for a total of ten (10) work days during the ACP.
The supervising principal, staff development supervisor or designee, candidate, and mentor support team determine appropriate components for the participant’s PDP; Institution of Higher Education partner staff members, from University of Central Florida, Brevard Community College, or Florida Institute of Technology, may participate as members of the mentor support team as needed and desired.
The candidate registers for the appropriate Accomplished Practices Cluster Modules, based on suggestions from the mentor support team and schedule of offerings from staff development. Modules may be provided by District staff, IHE partners, site-based trainers, or a combination of these providers, as approved in the participant’s PDP.
Documentation of the participant’s progress in the program is provided by the participant and the mentor support team in the ACP Portfolio. The supervising principal will observe the ACP participant and review the portfolio at least three (3) times during the program to verify progress and return the portfolio to the participant.
The mentor support team provides coaching in the classroom to the ACP participant on a regular basis to meet the needs of the participant, as indicated in the PDP.
After final review and approval of the participant’s ACP Portfolio by the staff development supervisor or designee, including evidence of successful post-assessment, the staff development supervisor sends the approved portfolio to the supervising principal and signs the participant out of the ACP.
The supervising principal and mentor support team evaluate the level of the candidate’s success based on classroom performance, level of completion of the training components, and post-evaluation assessment. The principal and mentor team recommend certification or non-certification.
If the mentor support team, including the supervising principal, recommend certification, the Superintendent requests that a five (5) year professional certificate be issued to the ACP participant.
Length of ACP Program
Participants in the program must successfully complete the following three (3) components of the ACP: (1) thirty-six (36) hours of training which comprise the Minimum Period of Initial Preparation prior to assuming duties as the teacher of record; (2) a minimum of 180 days of teaching under the supervision of an ACP mentor support team; and (3) additional modules of the Accomplished Practices as required by the individual participant’s ACP Professional Development Plan, based on the ACP Initial Evaluation of Competencies. Participants must complete all components of the program successfully within the validity period of their temporary certificates; they may complete all components and quality for certification after 180 days of teaching supported by the peer mentor support team.
Mentor Support Team Definition
The ACP mentor support team must include a peer mentor teacher who will offer twenty (20) days of intensive support during the first twenty (20) days of teaching, a school administrator, a peer mentor teacher for the Induction Program at the site, and a college professor who is teaching the current Accomplished Practices modules; this team may also include other teachers and/or District staff as needed. All school site members of the mentor support team must be trained in Accomplished Practices and Clinical Educator Training (CET). The mentor teacher of record must have completed at least three (3) years of successful teaching in the District. The mentor support team is responsible for providing coaching and support to the participant; the supervising principal and the mentor support team together are responsible for recommending ACP program completion to the ACP Program Coordinator.
Upon successful program completion, the Superintendent requests that a five (5) year professional teaching certificate be granted to the participant by the DOE.
Program Components
Entry Level Assessment and Competency Demonstration:
Interview Protocol on twelve (12) Accomplished Competencies.
Portfolio for recording competency acquisition.
Support Team Assistance:
Design a Professional Development Plan including documentation for all twelve (12) Accomplished Practices at the Pre- professional Level.
Coach for competency and improvement in teaching practice.
Review a participant’s PDP on a regular basis and make recommendations to the participant based on classroom performance as observed by support team.
Offer professional support and assistance.
Document completion of the PDP.
Staff Development Assistance:
Provide training in twelve (12) modules based on the twelve (12) Accomplished Practices, according to an individual’s PDP.
Collaborate with University of Central Florida, Brevard Community College, and Florida Institute of Technology partners to provide growth experiences for participants based on the Accomplished Practices and individual PDP’s.
Offer training for the ACP in modules providing an appropriate mix of workshops, college training, and school implementation, as required by an individual’s PDP.
Require and offer a minimum period of initial preparation for ACP program participants;
Provide post assessments for each Accomplished Practice in the ACP.
Program Completion:
Successful completion of the ACP program will be documented by all of the following components:
Submission of an acceptable and complete Accomplished Practices Competency Portfolio to the ACP Program Coordinator.
Written verification from the supervising principal and ACP support team of successful comprehensive competency demonstration on all twelve (12) Accomplished Practices.
Written verification of successful completion of teaching experience to include a minimum of 180 days of teaching under the supervision of a peer mentor who has been trained in Clinical Educator Training and the Accomplished Practices ACP Process.
Certification
In order to obtain a State of Florida Professional Certificate, the participant must:
meet requirements for a temporary certificate in an area in which the Department of Education offers certification prior to entry into the ACP;
successfully complete the District's ACP as indicated by award of ACP Certificate of Successful Completion;
pass the College Level Academic Skills Test, the appropriate Praxis Test, or other appropriate test as developed and required by the Department of Education, in the first year of the temporary certificate validity date;
pass the Florida Professional Educator Examination or other appropriate test as developed and required by the Department of Education;
pass the appropriate Florida Subject Area Examination;
meet other requirements of law.
Note: Completion of the ACP will satisfy the recency of credit requirement specified in State Board of Education Rule F.A.C. 6A- 4.004(3).
Program Evaluation
Evaluation of the District's ACP will be based on data collected annually in these indicators:
Annual review of participant portfolio’s and participant performance appraisal instruments.
Participant surveys.
Administrator surveys.
Numbers of ACP participants who remain employed in the District over a three (3) year period.
© Brevard County Public Schools 2002