Staff Qualifications Questions & Answers

Staff Qualifications:

Question: 4 stars reads:
25% of lead teachers have associates degree or higher OR
60 credits with 18 credits in ECE. So, does that mean associates degree can be out of field and no ECE credits are needed?

Answer: No, this has been re-worded to make it clearer. It is an Associates degree or 60 college credits, including at least 18 credits in ECE.

Question:Level three says all lead teachers need Staff Credential
Level four says 25% have associates degrees
Let's say at one of my schools, I have one lead teacher who doesn't have a Staff Credential, but more than 25% have associates degrees. What level would we score? We have 6 classes - 4 have degrees (2 are definitely ECE, one is elem. ed, the other is something else)..but, the only (hence, lead) teacher in our young infant room (4 max) does not have staff credential. Now, the lead teacher in our big infant room is a degreed teacher and IS responsible for the younger room as well, whenever it is in use (we don't always have it open). So, can we say she is lead for both rooms??

Answer: The requirements at each level must be met in order to move up, so if there is one lead teacher who doesn't have a staff credential, the score for part A of Professional Qualifications would be a 2 no matter how many other lead teachers have degrees. The lead teacher is the person in charge of each classroom when it is open. The infant room teacher with the degree can only be considered the lead in one room at a time.

Question: What constitutes a professional development plan....is it an individual plan for each staff member or a program-wide plan?

Answer: It is an individual plan for each teacher that sets the expectation that they will continue their formal education. So a teacher with a staff credential would be encouraged to work toward an Associates degree, etc.