Staff Development

Staff Development

Highly Qualified Teachers

Guidelines for Earning Equivalent Credit for Professional Growth

Human Resource Indicator 6.6 on page 8 of the Accreditation Standards 2005 states, "In fulfillment of this standard, the school requires all professional personnel to earn at least six semester hours of credit or the equivalent during each five years' of employment".

Six semester hours of credit is equivalent to 120 clock hours of professional development activities such as workshops, seminars, conferences, serving on peer review teams, and other training activities.

If professional personnel elect to earn any of these hours through equivalent activities, the following guidelines apply:

Activity	Description	Equivalent Credit
In-service	Workshops, seminars, and meetings that are sponsored by the school or school system. Such activities must have a clearly defined purpose and are designed to improve the professional competency of the participants.	10 clock hours or staff development units = 1/2 semester hour of credit
Meetings or Conventions	Professional meetings or conventions that are sponsored by a collegiate institution, an educational system, or a professional association and covers topics of professional interest relevant to an individual's responsibilities for the school	12 clock hours = 1/2 semester hour of credit
Travel	Travel shall involve professional experiences designed to increase the competence or expertise of the staff member in their field of work. A diary of the trip must be prepared by the staff member and filed with their personnel record	8 to 14 day dairy = 1/2 semester hour of credit
Presentations or Publications	Publications of educational topics or papers presented at professional seminars	2,000 word publication or 25 minute presentation = 1/2 semester hour of credit
Self Study or Peer Review Team	Participation in a self - study or serving on a peer review team for the purpose of accreditation.	Participation = 1 semester hour of credit

Each school of school system is responsible for approving, monitoring, and maintaining appropriate records that reflect each professional staff member's activities related to the fulfillment of the standard for accreditation requirement.