C ERTIFICATION IN G EORGIA NASDTEC Conference June 2015

Tiered Certification  Designed specifically for teachers  Offers increased opportunities for professional growth to teachers who remain in the classroom  Helps identify and recognize excellent teachers  Currently not tied to compensation

Tiered Certification Tier 2: Induction Tier 1: Pre-Service Tier 3: Professional Tier 4: Advanced & Lead Professional

Tier 1: Pre-Service for educator candidates completing field experiences or student teaching in Georgia  Qualifications: Enrollment in an initial certification program Criminal background check Ethics pre-test  Not a prerequisite for any other tier

Tier 2: Induction for teachers with fewer than 3 years of recent experience and some service personnel Four Pathways: 1.for GA program completers 2.for OOS program completers who student taught in GA 3.for OOS educators with less than 3 years of experience 4.for those who have not completed a program

Tier 2: Induction for teachers with fewer than 3 years of recent experience and some service personnel  Valid for 3 years  Conversion to Professional requires: 3 years of experience Special Georgia Requirements (for OOS educators) Program completion (for Pathway 4) Higher level score on content test (to be implemented in 2017)

Tier 3: Professional for experienced teachers and fully certified leaders and service personnel Two Types:  Performance-Based: For those teachers who have been evaluated on the statewide evaluation system  Standard: For leaders, service personnel, and teachers who are not evaluated on the statewide evaluation system

Tier 4: Advanced & Lead Professional for expert teachers and teacher leaders Both certificates require:  5 years of experience  No recent unsatisfactory experience  A minimum number of exemplary evaluations  A specific combination of advanced degree(s), certification endorsements, and assessment

Why Pre-Service  Pulls candidates under the Code of Ethics  Offers data from the Ethics Assessment, Content Assessment, and edTPA to drive Induction  Identifies candidates completing student teaching/practicums in Georgia and holds them to the same state assessment requirements

Pre-Service Statistics open Ethics cases Pre-Service certificates issued pending background check on hold for documents or assessments

Why Induction  Identifies the type of preparation of new teachers to support professional learning

Induction Certificates Issued since July 1, 2014 Pathway 1 (in-state) 1,356 Certificates of Eligibility 571 Full Certificates Pathway 2 (OOS prep, GA student teaching) 120 Certificates of Eligibility 125 Full Certificates Pathway 3 (out-of-state) 955 Certificates of Eligibility 646 Full Certificates Pathway 4 (non-professional) 1,714 Full Certificates

Alignment of Reforms Several major reform initiatives in Georgia intersect by design – Tiered certification – Statewide evaluation system – Professional learning for certificate renewal – Development of new certification fields: teacher leadership, curriculum & instruction, & instructional technology – Redesign of Educational Leadership

Teacher Leader As Linchpin Within the Georgia reform work, the teacher leader is a key figure in tiered certification, leads professional learning, assumes leadership roles, and generates evidence of expertise in the statewide evaluation system

Teacher Leader Skill Set Lead Professional certificate holders – Demonstrate performance – Hold an advanced degree or National Board Certification – Possess a specific skill set Teacher Leader Degree Teacher Leader Endorsement Coaching Endorsement Teacher Support & Coaching Endorsement

Key Role of Teacher Leaders Pivotal role played by teacher leaders – Lead Professional tier recognizes skills & performance of high-performing teachers – Support for Induction level teachers – Leadership of the school learning community – Symbolic role – model for the profession

Q UESTIONS & D ISCUSSION